Afghan woman is all about business

Entrepreneur Kamela Sediqi teaches Afghans around the country the skills they need to start ventures.

from the January 29, 2008 edition

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Aid workers argue that the social structure makes bringing women into the fold a struggle. "Our entrepreneurship program comes from very strong market analysis, which does make it more difficult to incorporate women because the range of activities that women can undertake for cultural reasons is very constrained," says Joanne Trotter of the Aga Khan Development Network.

Visitors wandering around a recent agricultural fair in Kabul saw the challenge on display. In stall after stall, women sold the same wares: handicrafts, jewelry, and traditional clothing.

"A lot of women are interested in business but there is a lack of markets – that is the main problem," said Zahra Sharifi of the Daikondi Women's Business Association as she tried to draw in a rare customer. Seated nearby, her husband nodded, saying he supported his wife's work and just wished she sold more of it.

Alongside the pitfalls facing all business owners, including limited capital, marginal infrastructure, and corruption, women face societal constraints and growing insecurity.

Yet Sediqi remains committed to bringing her work to even the more conservative and less secure areas of her country, including the region from which an American aid worker recently was abducted. On those trips, she gladly dons her burqa and boards a bus.

Once she arrives, Sediqi stands before a room full of men, facing a slew of questions, such as whether she is married (she is) and whether her family approves of her work (it does). She must convince her audience to take her seriously despite her gender and youth. She does this by speaking in terms they know: family and the Koran.

"I say to them, 'I come to you as a sister and daughter to share my experience,'" says Sediqi. Most of the time, she wins them over. One man told her he would educate his daughter if he could be certain she would turn out like Sediqi.

Back in Kabul, she is up against high rents and even higher energy prices. And she must battle for talented staff against well-paying international agencies. Yet Sediqi is fueled by a belief that small business can make a difference.

Certainly many, both women and men, are watching. "When it comes to business, the belief is that it is a male thing," says Dr. Zakhilwal. "Women are seen as dependent. But as more and more women come into the arena, they are seeing it is not just for men."

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