SHIBAR, Afghanistan — Farmers in the mountains of central Afghanistan are cooperating to introduce a variety of new crops in an effort to boost local commerce and protect against famine. But new produce is not the only change that farmers in remote districts are pioneering — the leaders in these small farming unions are mostly women.

The phenomenon marks a trend that is transpiring across the country; women in Afghanistan are increasingly becoming leaders, in business and politics.

In the remote district of Shibar, New York Times reporters have found that women in Afghanistan are the ones spearheading a popular movement to unionize farmers and connect villages’ agricultural economies.

Since agriculture is so central to Afghan society, 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas, officials predict that these advancements will help renew the country’s struggling economy. Farmers have also found that diversifying their crop yields has given them financial security, and expect this will ease the scourge of malnutrition.

But the women leaders in areas like Shibar are more than just economic benefits. Where they were once just wives or mothers, women are now dignified and important members of their communities.

Even though the progress of women’s empowerment in Afghanistan has been gradual, it has also been remarkable. Less than 15 years ago, U.S. led forces ousted the Taliban from power in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, ending a five-year regime that was ruthless towards women’s rights. During Taliban rule, women and girls were barely allowed to leave their homes, let alone vote or attend school.

Now thousands of women in Afghanistan are attending universities. And while women in rural regions like Shibar are leading unions, others are becoming entrepreneurs, media professionals and executives.

Since 2001, women in the country have also regained political power. Footage and images of Afghan women voting riveted and inspired many around the world as a victory for democracy.

But today, women are doing more than just voting, they are winning elections.

Women now hold 27 seats in the national parliament. In fact, in the 2014 provincial council elections, more than one in five positions went to a woman.

Fatema Jafari recently shared her story of winning a seat in the provincial council of Herat, Afghanistan’s third-largest city, in the Center for Strategic and International Studies podcast, Smart Women, Smart Power.

Shortly after the Taliban left in 2001, Jafari returned to Herat with her family from Iran, where they had fled in the 80s to escape the Soviet invasion. In Herat, Jafari went to school and became a midwife. However, after noticing corruption in the local health system, she decided to enter the provincial elections.

Jafari’s ambition concerned her family — she was not a well-known local nor wealthy enough to launch a big campaign and Herat was a very conservative city. Heeding her family’s warnings, Jafari waited a few years but then ran her campaign in 2009. And, after meeting with local women and hearing pessimism, the campaign became bigger than just curing corruption.

“Women in Afghanistan didn’t know about their powers,” Jafari explained. “I wanted to show them their power.”

Jafari was able to rally hundreds of women in a public demonstration and won a seat in the 2010 provincial council along with four other women. She is now a prominent women’s rights advocate and believes that more women in Afghanistan should run for office.

Nonetheless, women still have much to gain in Afghanistan and continue to fight for rights and support. And much of the country is still under Taliban control; in some places, the group is gaining territory and has conducted terror attacks across the country, including a recent shooting at the American University in Kabul.

Nevertheless, Jafari is not particularly worried about the Taliban and other extremists because “Women in Afghanistan are stronger than before.”

– Charlie Tomb

Photo: Flickr