KABUL - A joint exhibition showcasing Afghan and Iranian handicrafts was on Monday conducted by women from both the countries to mark the ongoing Iranian-Afghan Women's Friendship Week, an official said. A wide range of handicrafts, including jewelry, carpets, clothing, paintings and others were displayed at the exhibition having 100 stalls for Afghan products and 20 for Iranian products, Anjuma Naeemi, a commerce ministry official, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The purpose of the exhibition is to find market for Afghan women's handicrafts and to introduce Iranian cultural to Afghans, Naeemi said.
Such shows had been beneficial for selling their products over the past few years, Roqia Barmaki, one of the organizers from Balkh province, said.
“I had participated in Badam Bagh show of Kabul three years ago and got much income through that,” she recalled.

Another stall owner, Rabia from Baghlan, said she hired 12 women to produce handicrafts, including different designs of dresses for women and newly born children.
The acting women's affairs minister, Husn Bano Ghazanfar, said such exhibitions could play an important role in the development of the country and improvement in the capacity of Afghan women,.