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INTRODUCTION
A complex intersection of traditional gender norms and progressive and regressive changes resulting from political instability has long shaped women’s participation in public Afghan life. Over the last century, women and girls have experienced periods of improvement relating to the realisation of their full range of rights. Many of these have been short-lived, with the pace and scale of change often resulting in widespread backlash, especially from community leaders (Ahmed-Ghosh 05/2003). Since 2021, the Interim Taliban Authority (ITA) has introduced numerous rules and decrees restricting women’s and girls’ mobility and participation in public and economic life, aimed at protecting women, girls, and the morality of society (AAN 08/2024). Among these restrictions is the rule prohibiting women from working alongside unrelated men, effectively excluding women from most public and private sector jobs that also employ men. As a result, most women are restricted to home-based self-employment. Considering these restrictions, the number of new registered women-run businesses increased fourfold between 2021–2024, and the number of unlicensed women-run businesses is estimated to have more than doubled. That said, the proportion of women working is still disproportionately lower than it was prior to the dramatic fall from 2021–2022 after the ITA’s return to power (IIA 18/01/2024).
Despite ostensible support for women’s economic participation from some elements of the ITA, there is little practical support available (IIA 18/01/2024; KII 02/12/2024). This makes selfemployment the only viable option for most women who want or need to work. That said, many women face barriers related to the ITA policies and gender norms, such as restricted access to markets and lack of capital or access to credit. The costs involved in accessing support to scale up a business can also be prohibitive, and eligibility is tied to a business owner having a licence through business registration. In many rural areas, women are unaware of the potential that licensing and the support of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) hold – for example, the latter can help them obtain a recommendation letter for financial support from minor banks (UNDP 17/04/2024; KII 08/12/2024). Many women work informally, without a licence, and rely on family and friends for initial financial support (TOLOnews YouTube 02/06/2024; ACAPS 30/07/2024; KII 08/12/2024).
On 16 May 2024, the ITA announced that international humanitarian assistance should shift to sustainable development-style support that reduces the need for and dependency on aid (VOA 16/05/2024). Support for livelihood creation is not new for humanitarians, but the current sociopolitical environment means that any present-day support for livelihoods will occur within the context of restrictions for women. This report examines current economic opportunities for women in Afghanistan, which are almost entirely in the private sector, based on self-employment, and have a strong focus on home-based work and work in the informal sector.
With limited opportunities available to them, more women have opened self-employment and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to support themselves and their families. Increased support for women in business can allow women to exercise greater agency, although this is likely to continue facing the challenge of prevailing gender norms that limit women’s participation in civic and economic life. This report seeks to identify the barriers and enablers for self-employed women to participate in the labour force in the current socioeconomic context (WB 03/06/2022).