HUMAN SERVICES
St. David‘s Child
Development &
Family Services
INTERNATIONAL
CARE: Afghan Women
as Entrepreneurs
HOUSING
|
CARE: Afghan Women as Entrepreneurs Kabul, Afghanistan |
2004 $10,000 Grant |
In a war-ravaged country, often still bound by patriarchal systems, Afghani women – sponsored by Sundance Family Foundation through CARE – are daring entrepreneurs carving new pathways for themselves, for their country and for female generations to come.
Over the last two decades, Afghanistan has been oppressed and violence-ridden. Several wars, the struggle with the Taliban, and near economic collapse have increased illiteracy, economic insecurity, urban crowding and one-parent households. Currently, some 30- to 50-thousand widows are living alone with their dependent children in the town of Kabul, with a monthly earned-income average of $46. Because these women are often not allowed to work, or even leave their homes unescorted, they have become dependent on sending their children into the labor market at early ages. Girls are married off as early as 10 years of age to rid families of another mouth to feed and to receive a small sum for a daughter’s hand in marriage.
“…I’m proud to be making my own clothes at the same time as helping other women who are less fortunate than me.”
Bakhtnazer Niazi, CARE Grantee
CARE has assisted 10,000 widows and their 50,000 children in the town of Kabul since 1996. Originally a program focused on emergency aid, CARE has developed a local infrastructure that offers training and skill building for income-generating opportunities that create financial independence.
A new program, the Afghan Widows as Entrepreneurs project (AWE), was proposed by CARE in 2004 to help 30 widows train for business, hone their entrepreneurial skills and open a women-owned clothing and tailoring shop in Kabul. CARE was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Sundance Family Foundation to support the project and to pay for salaries, dressmaker materials, literacy training and administrative and technical support.
“The funding from the Sundance Family Foundation has helped the widows in the AWE project in substantial ways,” said Margaret Li, local contact person for CARE. “They have gained advanced levels of skills in tailoring. The funding provided monthly stipends, bought materials for their work, as well as instruction books for tailoring and stationery for literacy courses. Slowly, the CARE assistance will begin to withdraw support by lowering the monthly stipend given to the seamstresses as they begin to be paid directly for their seamstress services. Furthermore, the funding from Sundance Family Foundation has helped to create a partnership with an Afghan entrepreneur which, in turn, is creating self-sufficiency for the widows.”
Bakhtnazer Niazi, one entrepreneur in the program, is a 27-year-old widow with four children ages 4 through 9. She was selected by CARE to develop a business that helped her create a retail clothing and jewelry store. She received help to produce a marketing strategy, work with a consultant and develop relationships with talented designers. Niazi also participated in a “style road trip” through the aid of the Business Council for Peace.
When asked about her feelings regarding being on the cutting edge of women’s reform in business in Afghanistan, Niazi said, “Maybe the men who own shops will laugh at me because all my clothes are handmade, whereas they import their products mostly from Pakistan, but I’m proud to be making my own clothes at the same time as helping other women who are less fortunate than me.”
Copyright 2006 Sundance Family Foundation. All rights reserved.