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COVID-19 affects carpet industry in Bamiyan

AT News

KABUL: The Corona virus outbreak has severely affected the handmade carpet industry, by infecting those involved in the industry particularly the female carpet weavers in Bamiyan province.

The carpet weaver women say that they join the carpet industry due to poverty, unemployment and to earn livelihood.

Ruqia Hassaini, a 25 years old woman who weaves carpets along with three other women in Bamiyan, said that she runs her life through weaving carpets.

“My husband is sick. He cannot work. I weave carpets to earn our livelihood. I have three children. Carpet weaving is not the work of a person, but four people together work on one carpet,” she said.

Ruqia said that the prices of carpets decreased due to the virus pandemic, adding that earlier, a carpet was sold at the cost of 25,000 Afghanis but now it costs 15,000 Afghanis.

We did not work last year because of the coronavirus restrictions, she added.

Hajira another woman said that she weaves carpets to meet the expenses of her six family members.

Hajria said, that she learnt weaving carpets 10 years back in Pakistan.

She said that their business was badly hit by the deadly coronavirus, all the members of our family became unemployed, i started weaving carpets after the lockdown was eased, but the prices are not the same as they were prior to the pandemic.

Provincial Head of Chamber and Commerce Naeem Razee said, before the Corona virus, a carpet was sold at the cost of 25,000 Afghanis but now a carpet costs 8,000 Afghanis due to the coronavirus and non-availability of selling facilities and production markets, with this income was also decreased, Razee said.

The coronavirus pandemic severely impacted essential business across the country, resulting in increasing poverty, unemployment and soaring prices of goods.

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