Date: 26/10/1403

Local Sources in Ghor Report Taliban Confiscation of Tailoring Equipment Donated to Female Trainees
Local sources in Ghor province report that the Taliban in Lal wa Sarjangal district have confiscated approximately 60 sewing machines along with other tools and equipment that had been donated by the Islamic Welfare Organization to women participating in tailoring workshops. These items are reportedly being redistributed to individuals favored by the Taliban. According to the sources, the Islamic Welfare Organization, with financial support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), established three tailoring training workshops for women in the district center last year. The organization trained 65 women over a three-month period and had committed to providing each participant with tailoring equipment upon completion of the program.
Sources claim that the Taliban district governor has now collected these tools from the trained women and is distributing them to individuals of his choosing, including those willing to pay him fifty percent of the equipment’s value.

The reported confiscation of tailoring equipment from women trainees in Lal wa Sarjangal district by the Taliban represents the direct expropriation of women’s livelihood assets and the diversion of humanitarian assistance. By seizing tools provided through a UNDP-supported program and redistributing them through patronage and alleged bribery, local authorities undermine women’s economic independence and weaponize aid for control and personal gain. This incident illustrates how restrictions on women’s work are enforced not only through bans but through material dispossession and coercive local governance.