The World Bank in its recent report of “Women, Business and the Law 2023” placed Afghanistan among 11 economies with the lowest Women, Business and the Law scores. It says that violent conflicts and high levels of institutional and social fragility have an impact on the quality of policies and institutions, especially the capacity of governments to implement reforms.
“Of the 27 low-income economies examined, 11 have fragile and conflict-affected situations, including Afghanistan, Chad, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, and the Republic of Yemen,” according to the report.
According to the report, the temporary “Taliban administration” in Afghanistan issued rules and directives restricting women’s freedom of movement and ability to work. According to the report, many of these restrictions are enforced by “verbal decree.”
“The recent regime change in the country has had a negative impact on both the economy and the welfare of the Afghan people, particularly women and girls,” the report noted. “Girls’ access to secondary education has been significantly limited, and nearly half of women in salaried work have lost their jobs” (World Bank 2022a). Recently, the government banned university education for all female students and prevented women from working in the country’s voluntary organisations. Given the uncertainty over the applicable legal framework in Afghanistan, and because unwritten rules are not considered under the Women, Business, and the Law methodology,” the report stated, “the final count of changes widening the legal gender gap in Afghanistan is based only on what is identifiable in writing.”
“Women make up half of Afghanistan’s labour force, and their lack of job opportunities creates barriers to development in society,” stated economist Azeraksh Hafizi.
Meanwhile, some Afghan women entrepreneurs said that the women are playing a crucial role in the improvement of business and the economy of Afghanistan. “The economy of the people is weak. They see the products and choose but can’t afford it. The handmade products are expensive because they are made by hand,” said Lailuma, a female entrepreneur. “We should be encouraged, and the projects should be given to us. This is not good that the projects be only provided to the men, it should be also given to the women as well. We should not look down on women and should support them financially,” said Sonia, a female entrepreneur.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) said that efforts are underway to support women and girls in the economic sector. “More than 8,000 Afghan women are active in business across the country. The majority of them are working in seven sectors: handmade products, agriculture, health services, food, industry and mines. The presence of women in business can increase full security in the country,” said Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, a spokesman for the MoIC.
Earlier, the MoIC said that more than 50,000 women unofficially and 5,000 officially are involved in business in Afghanistan remain unpublished by an official source.”
