Last night I saw part of a CNN documentary called "Behind the Veil." It was extremely sad and upsetting, and the part I watched featured a widow whose husband and only son had been killed during a US missile attack. She had to beg on the streets (in a burkha), where she was scorned and often verbally abused. When I woke up this morning, the thought still in my head from sleep was "Pashtun shawl," so I googled those words and found some pictures from a company called Tarshian and Binkley (link below) that employs Afghani women to create women's fashions. They are sold at a store in Milwaukee called "Future Green," at trunk shows around the country from time to time, or online. I don't have anything to do with the company, btw, and never recall having heard of them until this morning, but they sound like they are trying to do something socially conscious to help individual people, and I thought others here might like to be aware of them. The clothes are organic and interesting looking, too. If others have some ideas about helping the Afghanis and would like to add them to this thread, I certainly won't feel it is being hijacked! The more ideas, the better.
http://www.tarsian.com/catalog/home.php