KABUL — Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Despite the defeat of the Taliban in 2001, women still find themselves restricted by the cultural norms and traditions of their country. However, there are some bright spots in gender equality, as more women entrepreneurs become successful throughout different parts of the country.

Since 2000, basic human rights have improved for women in Afghanistan. Women now make up 41 percent of paid workers outside of agriculture, compared to 35 percent in 1990. Furthermore, most regions of the country have reached gender parity in primary education.

In rural Afghanistan, the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) has focused on projects to empower women in business, and the results are positive. In January 2016, UNDP created 17 Sustainable Development Goals that build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals. These goals provide clear guidelines and policies to help tackle the root causes of poverty.

Goal number five tackles gender equality. There are few places where the need to improve gender equality is more prevalent than in Afghanistan, which ranks 152 out of 155 on the global gender equality index.

There are two UNDP-led programs in the rural west of Afghanistan that aim to empower women in business. The Gender Equality Project and the Business Development Services Package train women in skills such as jewelry-making, saffron farming or handicrafts. They provide classes in business skills such as marketing, credit management and communications. Since most women do not have a formal education, they offer classes in reading and basic math skills.

Since 2013, 1254 women have received these training classes. The results speak for themselves. One woman who makes jewelry has since trained 150 women in the field and employs 50 women. Another woman from the UNDP program has hired 23 women as her business has grown.

The UNDP facilitated logistics so as to allow 10 women entrepreneurs from rural Afghanistan to travel to the Rural Women exhibition in Kabul to showcase their products to 5,000 visitors. They honed skills from setting up displays to forging connections with others to create future business opportunities.

Kabul is the home to Hassina Syed, an entrepreneur who is one of the leading businesspeople in Afghanistan. She is the only female member of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce, which has 3,000 members. Syed represents the possibilities for women who begin businesses, and who have big dreams. Her first business was a bed-and-breakfast for foreigners after the fall of the Taliban. She went on to start a travel agency, a company selling high-end bed linens, a company that rented armored trucks and a company that sold bunk beds.

In 2016, World Economic Forum selected Syed as one of the most influential and innovative women leaders under 40 years old. She founded NOW, the Afghan National Women’s Organization, a nonprofit selling vegetables to hotels and restaurants that employs 75 people. Its goal is to empower a new generation of women entrepreneurs and to encourage education.

As more women entrepreneurs learn business skills, they, in turn, employ other women, allowing them to support themselves and cover school fees for their children. Women are empowered, and can better care for themselves and their families. It is a win-win for the women, their families and their country. It is providing a way to alleviate poverty.

– Jene Cates

Photo: Flickr