Behind the Burqa
Women Gain Financial Freedom and Increasing Independence 
(By lynn Heinesch)

Lynn Heinesch is Press Officer at CARE USA, who accompanied Dr. Helene Gayle during her visit to Afghanistan below, is her account of her visit to an EIWA project:

The clothesline outside the house held several bright blue burqas. They were bunched up not drying, but as if tossed by their owners before going into the house. The women came from throughout the neighborhood, covered, anonymous and interchangeable except for their shoes.

Inside, the living room was crowded with 30-some women of varying ages, kneeling on the floor and talking with great enthusiasm. Their heads were covered with scarves, but that was the only similarity. Each woman's features clothing and expressions were unique to her and the diversity of the group reflected its strength. Members in this district 6 group meet on Wednesday mornings, to contribute to a savings pool, take out loans and exchange information. At their first meeting in May, the women talked with American visitors about their newfound financial freedom, which has helped them develop small businesses and improve the health and education of their families.

It was a good opportunity to get out and to have access to resources to help our families" said one woman. "We wanted to meet together to have information and to know our rights. In Afghanistan, women don't have the same rights as men. There are not enough job opportunities for men and women, but especially women. We didn't have access to education. We are illiterate people and we would like to come here to learn something, to save our money together and use our resources to solve our problems. It is better than sitting at home doing nothing."

Each question prompted a flurry of responses, the women eager to talk. One woman with a school-aged son and an infant daughter said she had learned that her daughter had the right to education and other services as her son. Another said that members are gaining respect from their families for being able to contribute to financial endeavors. All the women said they had voted in the last election.

The women continued to talk as the group secretary called out names and they passed along money and account books. They chatted as if lifelong friends, but when asked if they knew each other before the group formed last year, the room was filled with a chorus of nehs.

"We never saw each other before, "said one "We live in the same area, but we had never met."

Helene Gayle, the president of CARE USA, asked if the women thought their increasing independence would cause tension in their Families. Again, the room resounded with nehs. "We are contributing to our families, helping our husbands and paying for things around the house. These are very positive changes, "said one.

CARE has formed 348 savings groups in Kabul, with 7,550 members. As of March 2006, they had saved $185,748. Members can receive small loans from their group. They are also linked with MoFAD, a Micro finance Institution started by CARE, which can grant them larger loans. The program is funded by the World Bank, the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and an organization called Micro finance Investment and Support for Afghanistan, supported by international donors. More than 4,500 women have taken out loans from the Micro finance Institution, with an average size of $167. The repayment rate is 99 percent.

Shogufa Bayat, 25 lives in district 6 of Kabul. She belongs to the Talash Group. The name means "to try." Shogufa has taken four loans, her most recent in May, for $165. Shogufa uses the money to buy raw materials for weaving carpets.

"Before, when we needed money, there was no one to help us, "she said." Now, my life is better. I can send my daughter to school. We are able to eat fruit."

Shogufa said her husband is happy that she is able to help grow the family business. Though she did not go to school because her family did not allow it, she said she wants her 7-year-old daughter to have the chance because "now I know literacy is good for life."

After nearly three decades of war, the Afghan banking system has been devastated. Just a few yeas ago, there were no banks in Kabul. CARE's approach of using savings as a way to finance women's enterprises before providing external credit is unique in the market.

"This is especially for women who don't have any financial experience, and can't go directly to a Micro finance Institution. We are reaching the poorest Savings and Credit Promoters said when the program began in 2004, it was not easy to get the women to leave their houses for meetings, because the custom was to stay at home. They also were not initially comfortable with the idea of paying interest, given Islamic tenets, but they came to understand the need for two present service fees to cover e expenses.

The project includes many war widows, some of whom have benefited from CARE food distributions over the last 10 years. That program was important during the time of the Taliban because women were prohibited from working. But to increase their self reliance now, promoters have been organizing the women into saving groups and teaching them vocational and literacy skills.

In May 2005, the Italian Program Manager for the widows' assistance program was kidnapped and held for 24 days before being freed. The afghan women, raised not to be seen nor heard, came from every district to the CARE office, and said they wanted to help. They helped public protests calling for Clementina Cantoni's release, which were covered by the international media.

"They were ready to stand in front of TV cameras, to shout to say 'she is a woman just like us.' It was clear that they were empowered. It was clear that there has something that were had built, "said Zakera Wahidi, Deputy Program Manager.

 These clients, once so shy, now ask for larger loans and more job opportunities. Their biggest challenge, one widow said, is that their families do not want them to go outside, so they need work they can do at home. They have been trained to raise chicken and cows, and to produce food, such as jam, pickles, dumplings and spaghetti.