Among shelves filled with herbal soaps, natural oils, and skincare products, women are busy packaging orders. This small workshop in Herat began with a training experience in Iran and has now created employment opportunities for ten women and girls.
The sound of livestock bells, the smell of fresh milk, and the movement of livestock-owning families across the green slopes of Band-e Bayan—this is the Yaylaq (Ailaq) in Ghor Province, a highland grazing area where, with the arrival of spring, many families move their livestock to make use of the pasturelands.
Three years ago, a young woman in Kabul launched an art workshop with an initial investment of 10,000 Afghanis, producing a variety of products made from epoxy resin. Today, the workshop has provided training and income-generating opportunities for around 200 women.
As the use of social media continues to increase and in-person employment opportunities for women decline, online sales have become an important source of income for many women and girls in Badghis Province. They say that despite ongoing economic hardship, they make efforts to cover part of their living expenses through online businesses.
At a time when farmers are increasingly concerned about declining agricultural productivity caused by climate change, changes in rainfall, soil erosion, and declining soil fertility, the opening of a factory producing organic and chemical fertilizers, equipped with a modern agricultural laboratory, has emerged as a promising initiative to support agricultural production in Balkh Province.
A youth in Sar-e Pol, relying on determination and self-taught skills, has taken practical steps toward serving society by designing and developing several software applications. Hussain Rahimi, a 28-year-old resident of the village of «To Ghani» in central Sar-e Pol, says he studied economics and has designed more than eight software applications and five digital games over the past six to eight years. His journey began with a simple idea and continued through persistent effort and self-learning.
Findings by Salam Watandar, based on interviews with 25 youth across 11 provinces of the country, show that the majority of them lost part or all of their capital after investing in online platforms and network marketing companies—without receiving the promised profit.
A young girl in Maimana, the capital of Faryab province, has created an income source for herself and several other girls by starting a small cookie-baking workshop.
The United Nations in Afghanistan (UN Afghanistan) says it has supported 18,616 women entrepreneurs across the country.
A woman in Kabul has established a tailoring and handicrafts workshop, creating opportunities for other women to learn a profession and gain employment. At a time when unemployment is a serious challenge for women, her determination and creativity have opened new pathways for others to work and earn a living.
A woman in Farah province has launched a small quail-farming business in an effort to reduce her economic dependence and play an active role in supporting her family’s expenses. Najiba Naji says she started raising quails with a small investment in a limited space inside her home.
Shafiqullah, a chicken seller in Mazar-i-Sharif, said, “The newly established farms, along with those built in the past, have a great impact on chicken meat prices. If we relied on Pakistan, one kilogram would cost over 300 Afghanis; now, the price in the city is 220 Afghanis.”
