Female entrepreneurs
complain of lack of markets

KABUL (Khaama Press): Some Afghan female entrepreneurs complain of a lack of market opportunities for their products.
Businesswomen said that sales of their goods have been poor in recent months and urged the government authorities to build more facilities to support their business activities.
“Women that run production in the private sector–the government has to provide permanent markets for them so they can make sales,” said Mumtaz Yosif Zai, a businesswoman.
“Women face a lack of markets for their products because people have economic issues and cannot buy our products,” said Zakira, a businesswoman, ToloNews reported.
A three-day exhibition was held in Dubai, organized by the United Nations Development Program and the Afghan Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI).
The Afghan businesswomen could not participate in the exhibition due to travel and visa restrictions. However, they took part remotely via video link from Kabul capital city of Afghanistan. A recent report by the International Labor Organization estimated that since the Taliban seized power in 2021, 25% of women’s jobs have vanished.
The report also added that many women had started home-based enterprises, preventing a further decline in women employed.
Lack of a permanent market, access to the foreign market, lack of purchasing power, safety and security and restrictions are the major issues for women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the UN has reiterated that the country suffers from a severe humanitarian crisis and estimates that two-thirds of the country’s population will need humanitarian assistance in 2023.
The estimates also show that 28.3 million Afghans will need humanitarian and protection assistance this year, while it was 24.4 million in 2022 and 18.4 million in 2021, UNOCHA said.
Since December last year, the de facto administration has banned Afghan females from working with national and international organizations. This has added to the severity of the crisis amid the country’s security deterioration during the past few months.