As you may have noticed, a couple of our last blog posts have been about Haiti and Lebanon. You’re probably wondering why we care about these things or why we’re talking about them. Well, our brand mission is committed to empowering people everywhere, so one way we thought we could put our money where our mouth is, was by creating a collection of shoes that was inspired specifically by giving back and helping people that are dealing with some serious challenges. Our Fashion With a Cause collection is meant to give us and our customers a way to easily give back through doing something we were already going to do anyway. If we can design a pair of shoes that you love and are excited to buy that is specific to a particular cause and allows you to give to that cause simply by buying the shoe you were already going to buy anyway, we create a win-win-win scenario and we are a fan of those! When you purchase a pair of our Fashion With a Cause shoes, 20% of the proceeds go to organizations dedicated to helping those in need in these specific places. We have done a ton of research on various countries across the world, and have chosen 3 countries we thought we would start with including Afghanistan, which is why we have been highlighting them. . Being that we are a shoe company, we decided to combine our passion for shoes with our passion of speaking out for those who have lost their voice. Our Abru Loafers are dedicated to the beautiful country of Afghanistan, and you can find them on our website under the Fashion With a Cause section.
To share a bit of what we have learned about Afghanistan, it has struggled with freedom since it was formed in the early 1900’s. In 1973, Amir Amanullah Khan overthrew the King in order to form a more Democratic Party that grants women civil rights. Just 5 years under his new government, he is killed in a coup by a soviet party that had been forming. Fast forward to the late 1980’s, Osama Bin Laden forms the terrorist group Al-Qaeda that is dedicated to push an Islamic government which led to the formation of the terrorist group the Taliban in the 1990’s. The Taliban held power in Afghanistan until 2001 when they were overthrown by the United States. At this point, they were able to reform their democratic government with the help of the United States and were able to live peacefully for about 20 years. In the 20 years that Afghanistan was free from the control of the Taliban, the country was able to reform their own government. Boys and girls were allowed to attend school and play sports, and women were allowed to have jobs. In September 2021, Afghanistan was once again overthrown by the Taliban. The new government put in place by the Taliban is called The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Under this new government, there will be no elections, a leader was appointed by the Taliban, and no women are allowed to hold government positions.
Being a woman owned business that is geared toward the empowerment of others, we feel strongly about finding ways that we can help the millions of people that are suffering under this type of government and know all too well what it is like to live in a place where you have no rights. So much has happened since the formation of this new government and we are committed to supporting organizations that are working with women and children both on the ground and in the US as they seek safety and better life options for themselves. And given the upcoming holiday season, our hope is that we will be inspired to give a little more, care a little more and love a little more than usual. We invite you to join us. It is incredibly important to give back people the voices that have been taken away from them and we want our Fashion With a Cause collection be just one way that we can help out.