After the end of the Talibanisation and decades of suppression of their rights, women of Afghanistan are now gathering courage to venture into entrepreneurship.
Enthused by the landmark decision of the government and the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to recognise and register the Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI) on March 12, 2017, women are going all out to prove their mettle in various fields, its co-founder and president Manizha Wafeq told The Hindu on Wednesday.
Ms. Wafeq along with Benazir Yakta, CEO of the Kabul-based Benazir Yakta Trading Company, were part of a two-member delegation which opened a stall at the exhibition being conducted at the three-day international women entrepreneurs’ conference being organised by ALEAP.
Their stall, which sold dry fruits and a powder made with saffron, drew big crowds. Stating that peace through business was the motto of their chamber, Ms. Wafeq, who played a key role in convincing the authorities in their country to recognise the AWCCI, said as on today, they had enrolled 850 members.
She said women empowerment was being encouraged in their country with the induction of three women Ministers in Cabinet rank and nine Deputy Ministers in key departments.
‘No discrimination’
“We want to forget the past and rebuild our future and live peacefully. Now we don’t find discrimination against women as far as the law is concerned,” she said.
Ms. Yakta, who is holding talks to open a retail outlet of dry fruits in India, said she was also doing good business by trading saffron flower powder.
She said saffron cultivation was slowly replacing hashish in various provinces of Afghanistan due to good returns from the produce.
