Working around Restrictions: Afghan Women Build Businesses under the Taliban
Working around Restrictions: Afghan Women Build Businesses under the Taliban
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Mon, 03/09/2026 – 16:04
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Illustration by Mélissa Cornet for CRISIS GROUP
Commentary
/ Asia-Pacific
09 March 2026
5 minutes
Working around Restrictions: Afghan Women Build Businesses under the Taliban
After the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021, they severely curtailed women’s rights. The private sector, in particular small-scale entrepreneurship, has emerged as one of the last spaces where women can attempt to cobble together a living, albeit with significant challenges.
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Margarite Clarey
Senior Advocacy and Communications Officer, Asia
https://twitter.com/MargariteClarey
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Afghanistan
When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Maryam knew she would have to quit teaching. She had lived through the first Taliban regime in the late 1990s, when sweeping restrictions on women and girls’ rights had drastically curbed their access to education, health care and work. Her fears that the Taliban would once again adopt draconian policies proved well founded: after reassuming control, they banned girls over the age of twelve from attending secondary school and then from going to university. With no students to teach, Maryam launched a clothing design and production business. That not only provided her with a job, but also allowed her to employ young women who were being deprived of an education. “I do this work for myself, but also for the younger generation who need support”, she said.
Maryam’s path reflects a broader shift in Afghanistan. The Taliban have gutted female employment in the public sector and non-governmental organisations. At first, many women turned to agriculture – particularly farm work – to support themselves and their families. But a series of droughts and Taliban policies, including a ban on poppy cultivation, made it difficult to eke out a livelihood. Consequently, many women turned to setting up their own businesses, often working from home making handicrafts and food products. The number of licences granted to women-led enterprises has quadrupled to more than 10,000 since 2021, and tens of thousands more women run informal businesses. These small-scale operations now represent the largest source of employment for Afghan women.While women-led businesses have been spared restrictions, entrepreneurs like Maryam face challenges emanating from the government’s broader gender-based prohibitions. Many women-led businesses operate under the radar and rely on informal networks and home-based production, even when they hold valid licenses. This is in part to evade the watchful eyes of the authorities, but also due to societal pressure from those who disapprove of women-led businesses. Maryam ensures men are unable to enter her workshop, so as not to run afoul of the rule against mixed-gender workplaces. Women she hires keep niqabs on hand should Taliban officials come checking. “We work almost secretly”, Maryam said. “We don’t put up a sign, and we only go to meetings with women. This way, no one from the outside knows we have a business inside. All our sales are made through Instagram and Facebook”.
Many women-for-women businesses have benefited from external support, including assistance from the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and international organisations, which have launched a number of small-scale initiatives to help female entrepreneurs. “When I first started, I didn’t have much capital”, Maryam explained. “I rented a workshop from the Women’s Chamber of Commerce because they had the equipment. Later, I saved up some money and borrowed a bit from my family. But it was really the training from [international] organisations that made it possible. They’ve helped me learn how to run a business, how to trade. I think I’ve become a successful entrepreneur because of them”. Still, running a business in the current environment is challenging. Once products have been created from home, businessowners need to get access markets to sell them. But the Taliban prevent women from travelling alone, even for short distances in taxis. The obligation to be accompanied by a mahram, or chaperone, also applies when speaking with government officials and even when journeying to business events such as trade fairs. Women also cannot interact with male customers, suppliers or landlords without male relatives acting as middlemen.This rule constrains not only entrepreneurs, but also their customers. “Women are afraid to come out of their homes to go shopping. That fear has affected our sales”, said Maryam. In this environment, she sees trade fairs organised specifically for women entrepreneurs as one of the few safe, reliable ways to reach customers. These were introduced by the Taliban in March 2022, around the same time that they reopened the Women’s Chamber of Commerce.“The [trade fairs] help introduce our business and create a sense of motivation and competition. Some women get ideas when they see others showcasing their work. Trade fairs are really necessary, especially for women entrepreneurs like us”, said Maryam.
Taliban tolerance for women entrepreneurs seems to vary across the country. Although many women work informally from the safety of their homes, they can still face Taliban scrutiny if suspected of breaching the group’s strict morality rules. While the edicts are issued nationally and, in theory, apply uniformly, in practice enforcement is uneven. Outside urban centres like Kabul and Herat, women face steeper barriers, due to fewer opportunities but also stricter enforcement of gender-based restrictions. “In Parwan province, all the edicts have been put into practice”, said Amina, referring to the exclusion of women entrepreneurs from the mixed-gender markets that existed before the Taliban, as well as the requirement to wear the chador. Until 2021, she ran a successful tailoring business and moved freely between districts, coordinating production and meeting officials. But after the Taliban’s return, local authorities shut her down, citing the ban on women working in “mixed environments” without a mahram. She relocated to a women-only market and later moved her work home. Each time, however, the local morality police intervened. “Even working from home wasn’t allowed”, she said, though no rule formally prohibited her activities.This patchwork enforcement of restrictions leaves many rural, unwed or widowed women particularly vulnerable. Zahra, a teacher and former member of the Teachers’ Council in western Afghanistan, was turned away from a meeting at the Education Department after the new rules on a mandatory mahram for women took effect. “I don’t have a brother or uncle”, she recalled explaining to the Taliban official who confronted her. “Should I go and bring my father from the cemetery?”
Those trying to revive Afghanistan’s economy, including some members of the Taliban, acknowledge that women’s participation is indispensable. The UN-led Doha process, which coordinates international engagement with Afghanistan, has placed economic recovery at the centre of discussions between the Taliban and international actors. Nonetheless, restrictions on women’s access to services, freedom of movement and interaction with officials continue to hamper the capacity of women-led businesses to operate and grow. To meet their pledge to kickstart the national economy, authorities should consider easing controls on women entrepreneurs. Potential changes include making public services accessible to women without male intermediaries; easing travel restrictions; and ramping up the number of women-focused trade fairs. Without reform, women will continue to encounter obstacles in building and running small businesses, undermining their ability to contribute to Afghanistan’s economy.For international donors, targeted grants and training for women entrepreneurs on business management and development, marketing and digital literacy remains one of the few ways to sustain Afghan women’s livelihoods amid current political constraints. Such programs have already been rolled out, but new women-led businesses continue to emerge, and many struggle to get assistance. Women describe opaque grant processes and express frustration with organisations that promise support but fail to follow through. Others say rigid program models and regulatory hurdles make getting NGO support difficult, underscoring the need for greater flexibility and assistance that extends beyond financing to include technical and administrative guidance. When women do get meaningful support, they say it can be transformative.
“Without that support, this would have been much harder”, said Maryam. “That, and the encouragement from women in the community, is what kept me going. Our strength is that women support each other. I am now a respected person with a different status and a new vision”.
All illustrations by Mélissa Cornet for Crisis Group.
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