[1/5] An Afghan girl attends painting and art class at the Skills Academy for Needy Aspirants (SANA) in Peshawar, Pakistan July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz Acquire Licensing RightsPESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 28 (Reuters) - In a small workshop in the bustling northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, a dozen Afghan women sit watching a teacher show them how to make clothes on a sewing machine. Officials say hundreds of thousands of Afghans have travelled to Pakistan since foreign forces left and the Taliban took over in 2021. Basheer said that her main focus was expanding operations for Afghan women and she has also included some Pakistani women in the program to boost their opportunities in the conservative area. Once graduating from the three-month course, the women are focused on earning a modest but meaningful income, often starting their own businesses.

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Persons: SANA, Fayaz Aziz, Mahra Basheer, Basheer, Fatima, Mushtaq Ali, Charlotte Greenfield, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Skills Academy, REUTERS, Rights, Taliban, United Nations, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Afghan, Peshawar, Pakistan, Rights PESHAWAR, Afghanistan, Peshawar –