Masood Khan sorts freshly made socks to be packaged. — Photos: AP
IN a tiny room in the centre of Herat, Afghanistan’s westernmost city, Shahabuddin uses his hands to propel himself along the floor to a freshly-made pile of socks waiting to be sorted and packaged.
A double amputee since a roadside bomb took both his legs a decade ago, when Afghanistan was mired in conflict between United States-led forces and Taliban insurgents, the 36-year-old father of four had struggled to find work. Unemployed for the last decade, he had been forced to rely on relatives for his family’s survival.
But a new sock production workshop in Herat employing only disabled workers has given him new hope.
“I became disabled due to the explosion. Both my legs were amputated,” Shahabuddin, who like many Afghans goes by only one name, said during a brief pause in his. “Now I work here in a sock factory, and I am very happy that I have been given a job here.”
The workshop is the brainchild of Mohammad Amiri, 35, a former grocery shop worker who started the business about a month ago.
Shahabuddin sorts freshly made socks to be packaged in a sock workshop staffed entirely by men with disabilities in the western Afghan city of Herat, Afghanistan. —Photos: AP
Amiri, himself disabled by childhood polio, wanted to create jobs and help provide income for other people with disabilities, particularly as many of them were injured during the conflict and have no other means of income.
He teamed up with another polio survivor to start the sock factory with a workforce of men disabled either through traumatic injuries or because of congenital issues or other reasons. They make four types of socks: long and short, for winter and summer.
“The factory, which is funded and supported by people with disabilities, began operations last month and currently employs around 50 people with disabilities,” Amiri said. “They are busy in the production, packaging and sale of socks in the city.”
Mohammad Arif Jafari prepares his stall to sell socks made in the workshop.
High levels of disability
A combination of decades of conflict, a weak health care system and struggling economy have contributed to high levels of disability in Afghanistan.
Data from a 2019 Model Disability Survey conducted by The Asia Foundation nonprofit organisation indicates that nearly 25% of adults live with a mild disability, while 40% have moderate and about 14% have severe disabilities.
“These figures compel us to act with greater urgency and commitment,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a statement.
“Persons with disabilities must not be treated as an afterthought; they must be fully integrated into every stage of planning, decision-making and service delivery.”
Amiri (second from left) labels a pair of socks as he works with his staff, all of whom have disabilities.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan is one of only two countries – along with neighbouring Pakistan – where wild poliovirus remains endemic. The infectious disease can cause flu-like symptoms, but can also cause severe reactions, including paralysis, disability and death.
The Afghan Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs says 189,635 disabled people across the country are registered and receiving financial support from the government.
Amiri said his business faces serious competition from cheap imports of textiles and expressed the hope that the government would stop imports from abroad. He has hopes of getting a contract to provide the Afghan security forces with socks and wants to expand his workforce to 2,000 people.
Amiri (right) sorts out spools of thread for making socks.
His current employees include former refugees who have recently returned to Afghanistan after spending years abroad.
One such man is Mohammad Arif Jafari, 40, an economics graduate and polio survivor who lived in Iran for years. Returning to Afghanistan has been hard, he said.
“I suffered a lot due to unemployment. But fortunately, now I produce several types of socks,” he said while selling his wares from a stall on the streets of Herat. “I am happy that I am working here and earning an income.” – AP
