Afghan Women Turning to Entrepreneurship Amidst Tough Restrictions

The stringent restrictions imposed by the Taliban have severely impacted women’s ability to pursue secondary education and secure most jobs in Afghanistan. In response, thousands of Afghan women are embracing entrepreneurship as a viable path to earning an income and maintaining their social lives.

Ghoncha Karimi, a 36-year-old beekeeper, exemplifies this shift. Last month, she was seen tending to her bees at an orchard near Herat City.

Despite the world’s toughest restrictions on women and girls, the Taliban allow women to start businesses. However, this comes with a set of stringent rules. To prevent economic collapse and maintain some international connections, the Taliban have issued more than 10,000 business licenses to Afghan women. This represents a significant increase from five years ago, according to the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. An estimated 120,000 women operate without licenses, making small businesses the largest employer of Afghan women, as stated by the World Bank.

However, these advancements in entrepreneurship do not mask the reduced opportunities for women’s wider ambitions. Many women who aspired to careers in law, engineering, or academic positions now find themselves in fields like carpet weaving, cosmetics, or vocational training. Opportunities in government, non-profits, beauty salons, midwifery, nursing, and direct dealings with male clients and officials remain inaccessible to them.

The employment statistics paint a bleak picture. Less than 7 percent of Afghan women held jobs as of 2024, according to the U.N. Development Programme. For those who do work, rising challenges include harassment and arrests by morality police, leading to rare public protests.

This shift to entrepreneurship among Afghan women represents both an adaptation to harsh realities and a testament to their resilience under difficult circumstances.