January 22, 2025

Afghanistan stories of resilience: Part 2

Learn how Amina, Nagma, and Zahra are forging new futures through entrepreneurship and passion.

A woman stands in front of a home made of mud bricks in Afghanistan.

By BRAC International

 

This is part two of a two-part blog series sharing stories of resilience from Afghanistan. Read part one here.

Afghanistan’s post-conflict humanitarian crisis bears similarities to Bangladesh’s post-war environment of the 1970s, when BRAC was born. We began adapting lessons learned from our poverty alleviation efforts to Afghanistan in 2002, BRAC’s first country of operation outside of Bangladesh. 

Afghanistan remains a challenging context, with over half of the country’s population living below the poverty line. Decades of conflict combined with climate shocks have cut off many communities from livelihood opportunities.

BRAC serves communities in hard-to-reach areas across the country, and has reached around 17 million people through its programs in Afghanistan. Discover three of those people’s inspiring stories: women who have overcome great odds to bring positive change to their lives and communities.

 

When creativity sparks innovation: Amina’s thriving pickle business

Amina, from Nahre Shahi village in Afghanistan’s Balkh province, has all the makings of a great entrepreneur. But, she hasn’t always had the resources she needed to be successful at her disposal.

But today, thirty-year-old Amina runs a thriving pickle business, which over time has grown to employ 15 women from her neighbourhood. 

So how did she do it? 

It all started with a spark of genius.

Amina lives with her husband and six children. While her husband works, managing expenses for their growing family was proving difficult on a single income source. Amina knew she needed to do something.

While she did not receive any formal education, Amina is a natural when it comes to marketing. And she had a good idea: She noticed how popular her mother-in-law’s pickles were among relatives and friends, and decided to give pickle-making a shot, herself. 

So, she set out to learn how to make the pickles, and began to sell them to neighbors and friends. They loved them! 

But Amina had her sights set higher. She wanted to scale her business, but she lacked the funds she needed to invest in it. Her small income was hardly making a dent in the household expenses, let alone allowing her to think about expansion.

But when she was selected as a participant in BRAC’s ABADEI project, funded by the United Nations Development Program, she saw the perfect opportunity to grow her business. 

Amina participated in business training, and received mentorship support and financial assistance to expand her business.

She used her new funds to purchase materials and machinery that would help her expand her business. Fast forward to today: Her pickle business produces 50-80 bottles of pickles everyday, allowing her to earn 18,000 Afghanis (about $254) in profits each month, all while employing 15 women!

Amina’s story reinforces what BRAC knows to be true: Investing in women is a force multiplier. When women have better access to education, capital, and livelihoods, the effects go far beyond a single individual. A woman multiplies the impact by creating a better life for herself and the people around her.

 

What does it take to break free of the poverty trap?

For Nagma and her children, it meant regaining their sense of confidence in their ability to bring positive change. Nagma grew up in the hustle-bustle of the Afghan capital, Kabul. But she had to leave the city and move to a different province when she got married. She now rents a small house in Tapa-i-Khan, Surobi district, where she lives with her husband and ten children.

The Afghan economy has been in trouble for a long time now, and communities in marginalized conditions find it especially difficult to manage a decent livelihood. Nagma’s husband is a person living with disability, and is unable to work. In traditional Afghan society, it is not common for women to head households: but Nagma took on the role.

She sought out steady employment sources while her two eldest sons took on odd jobs, contributing what little they made to the family. Nonetheless, providing for a large family – schooling, medical bills, house rent – were all proving too much to handle.

Families like Nagma’s, who live in extreme poverty, are often trapped, unable to escape their situation. They need support that is tailored to their unique needs. This is where BRAC’s flagship Graduation approach comes in. It is designed to meet the complex needs of families living in extreme poverty, which we know is multidimensional: So, empowering people to escape the poverty trap requires a multidimensional approach.

Nagma joined BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation program. As part of the program’s holistic approach, she received livelihood assets, skills development, and a stipend. She also participated in training on livestock rearing, and received a cash stipend, a cow, and five chickens.

From there, Nagma blossomed. Once her chickens began laying eggs, she sold them and bought a sewing machine with proceeds. She and her son also set up a small business selling potato chips and corn fry. She now believes in diversifying her income sources. From running their shop, to rearing chickens, to managing her tailoring business, Nagma’s businesses are thriving, and she is full of newfound confidence in her ability to change her circumstances.

 

Thriving and not just surviving: The story of a poultry farmer in Afghanistan

It is not easy being a young woman, particularly in Afghanistan, where basic rights are often restricted or entirely denied. But when 23-year-old Zahra lost her father in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, her challenges became further magnified. 

Zahra’s father had been the sole breadwinner for the family, and now she had to figure out a way to support her two younger siblings and her mother, all while navigating many challenges and unknowns.

With no formal education and no prior work experience, finding a job or an income source was proving increasingly difficult for Zahra. But giving up was not an option.

There is an old saying that luck favors the prepared. Luckily, when an opportunity presented itself, Zahra was prepared.

Through members of her community, Zahra learned about a program that would teach her to raise poultry, and help her develop her skills and opportunities to earn an income. She participated in a 36-day training program, learning to raise chickens and manage a business. She also received a start-up kit, which included an incubator, a battery-powered solar system, chicken feed, and a cash stipend of $1160 to kick start her business.

Zahra is one of 3,000 participants in Afghanistan, 60% of whom are women, who have participated in training with BRAC. They’re training in a wide variety of demand-driven trades, including tailoring, raising livestock, poultry farming, cell phone repair, gardening, beekeeping, and even mushroom cultivation!

She is smart with her business: So far, Zahra has raised approximately 800 hens, and has managed to sell them all in her local market. The eggs laid by her hens also provide her family with a steady source of protein! Not all are for consumption, though: She also sells eggs in the market, helping to diversify her income. 

Zahra has started saving for her family’s future, and is helping her mother raise her two siblings. While challenges remain, she has a newfound sense of confidence in her ability to bounce back from the curveballs life throws at her.

 

Amina, Nagma, and Zahra are just three of the many women and girls BRAC works with in Afghanistan. Learn more about our work with people like them across the country.