When Zainab Ferozi saw Afghan women struggling to feed their families after Taliban authorities took power, she took matters into her own hands and poured her savings into starting a business.

Two-and-a-half years after putting 20,000 Afghanis ($300) earned from teaching sewing classes into a carpet weaving enterprise, she now employs around a dozen women who lost their jobs or who had to abandon their education due to Taliban government rules.

Through her business in the western province of Herat, the 39-year-old also "covers all the household expenses" of her family of six, she said from her office, where samples of brightly colored and exquisitely woven rugs and bags are displayed.