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Ms. Fakiri has been
an active member of the San Francisco Bay Area Afghan community for the
past 10 years. Born in Kabul, Ms. Fakiri, at age 10, migrated with her
family to the United States after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
She completed her Bachelors degree in English Literature at San Jose State
University and served as President of the Afghan Student Organization
her senior year. Among her numerous activities within the Afghan community,
she produced and hosted “Fanous,” a groundbreaking weekly
Afghan radio program dealing with issues Afghans face as first-generation
immigrants. In addition, Ms. Fakiri is also a founding member and President
of the Society of Afghan Professionals, one of the most active Afghan
organizations in the United States. In March of 2002, Ms. Fakiri traveled
to Afghanistan to research the possibility of a micro-lending organization
in Afghanistan and, in a follow up trip, established the first microlending
organization for Afghans by Afghans. Ms. Fakiri has seven years of experience
in corporate Human Resource management and Public Relations with Silicon
Valley high-tech companies.
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Two years ago when I first
visited Afghanistan, many had never heard of microfinance or even of the concept
of providing small loans to poor people. Aside from a couple very small programs
in Kabul and northern Afghanistan, no other organization attempted to deliver
basic financial services to women in one of the poorest countries in the world.
Though Afghanistan was emerging from a dark period after the
Taliban and the Jihadi era, the country seemed ripe for practicing microfinance
even in a risky post-conflict environment. Since then, anyone who has visited
Afghanistan, especially Kabul, has witnessed the emergence of a vital, thriving,
marketplace. For hundreds of years, Afghans in general, and especially women
have owned micro-businesses such as cotton trading, tailoring, weaving, and
animal husbandry. Over the past 50 years in Afghanistan, micro businesses evolved
into small enterprises, and cooperatives. This flourishing of the local private
sector ignited a need for a Chamber of Commerce for women to represent the interests
of these entrepreneurs, an agency later transformed into the Ministry of Women’s
Affairs. Like many other economic endeavors in the region, women-owned businesses
were stifled during the 20 years of war. Though women at one time had owned
businesses in a thriving marketplace, their roles during that turbulent time
of grave human rights abuses were greatly weakened. But despite the tragedies
that have befallen Afghan women and the deep-rooted gender differences and inequalities
that have always existed in Afghanistan, Afghan women have proven to be strong,
resilient and entrepreneurial.
PARWAZ, one of the first microfinance institutions in Afghanistan
working towards empowering Afghan women, began providing loans to women in a
very uncertain, post-Taliban environment. At first, there were many challenges
because microfinance was a completely new concept in a country where people
were heavily dependent on humanitarian aid. One of the sensitive issues we faced
at the outset was the issue of charging interest. Contrary to popular understanding,
charging interest is not anti-Islamic as long as it conforms to the complex
Islamic banking rules. The challenge is for microfinance institutions to design
their programs appropriately; they can call interest by a different name or
educate clients about the difference between usury and interest. The post-conflict
setting also lacked any concrete banking laws, much less laws to promote a healthy
credit culture. Although the Central Bank has not yet formulated microfinance
laws, non- governmental organizations have been practicing here without much
interference from the government.
Male Dominated Society
Perhaps the biggest challenge that women face in Afghanistan is operating a
businesses in a male-dominated society. Women, in general, are not allowed to
sell their products in the market, and may not negotiate with men for the price
of their goods. Even though organizations like PARWAZ attempt to empower women
by providing loans, the reality is that they are dependent on a male member
in their families to operate their businesses successfully. The current social
landscape in Afghanistan is such that women, even in urban areas, are prohibited
by social norms to openly be part of the free market, an arena dominated by
men. For example, a woman cannot stand on the street and sell fruit, or open
a shop and be a shopkeeper. Still, the role of women in micro-businesses is
largely limited to behind the scenes activities where they produce or make the
goods for the market while their husband or son conducts the transactions. There
are, of course, exceptions to this rule, especially for those whose activities
are related to sewing or tailoring. The number of women who are defying the
societies’ restrictions and are attempting to run their businesses on
their own is small, but growing.
Scaling up to support women's
businesses and women entrepreneurs:
Increase Micro Entrepreneurs
Microfinance is a new and growing sector in Afghanistan. Although other organizations
are joining PARWAZ and providing basic financial services to women, many more
programs are needed, especially in the difficult effort to reach the provinces
outside Kabul. Only about one-fourth of the total population of Afghanistan
resides in urban centers; rural areas are extremely poor and underdeveloped
and the provision of microfinance in these areas is one of the best ways to
lay the foundation for economic growth.
Increase Capital
The first thing needed to scale up businesses for women is increased capital.
Even though the average loan amount is probably around $150 for women, many
of these women need increased capital to support and sustain their businesses.
Although Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, the cost
of living is very high in comparison. Clients require higher amounts of capital
than what is currently offered to them to launch businesses.
Literacy
In a country where the illiteracy rate is over 90% for women in some areas,
the majority of our clients are illiterate, which means in some cases they do
not know how to do simple calculations. However they are aware that they have
more purchasing power than before because their income has increased. In conducting
field surveys, we found that there is a significant gap in the level of success
between our literate and illiterate clients. Providing literacy programs for
clients of microfinance organizations is an investment PARWAZ hopes to make
in the future.
Business Development
Whether a client is literate or not, all require a degree of business development
training. PARWAZ provides some fundamental training in negotiation skills so
that women can sell their goods at a higher price or purchase material at the
lowest price. With basic accounting and marketing techniques to enhance their
current products, a woman’s road to a thriving enterprise is less rocky.
Afghan women and men have
a keen sense of business even if they lack formal business education. With the
immense surge in population through the return of refugees from neighboring
countries in the past two years, Afghanistan’s marketplace is a reflection
of the diverse experiences that they have imported. Though the industry is still
in its infancy, the achievements thus far indicate a huge potential for the
growth of microfinance in Afghanistan. Access to credit greatly expands people’s
choices – which, in the long term, gives people power. In a society where
women have long been denied power in the workplace, the value of credit cannot
be underestimated. You can
learn more about PARWAZ at www.parwaz.org
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