By Kamal Afghani 

KUBAL - With Afghan women barred from education beyond primary school, excluded from most jobs and unable to travel, seek healthcare or run daily affairs without a male guardian, small home-based businesses have become one of the last remaining lifelines for millions.

The UN agencies say Taliban policies have effectively cornered the women, stripping women of access to education, government employment, NGOs, and even basic freedoms such as visiting hospitals or markets without a mahram (male guardian).

Women make up almost 50% of Afghanistan's population, with recent World Bank data estimating the female population at approximately 49.5%.  

“For many women, running a small business is the only viable way to earn an income,” the United Nations said in its latest report released earlier this month.

In its report, the UN describing how women-led enterprises are not only sustaining families but also employing others who have lost their jobs under Taliban decrees.

In the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Parwin Zafar runs a tailoring shop that has become one of the few safe spaces where women can work and learn skills.

“It was difficult for women to sit at home,” she said. “They had to come out of their houses and learn.”

Women are officially barred from working in government offices, non-governmental organisations and even the UN itself. However, businesses linked to traditionally “acceptable” roles for women — including tailoring, food processing, carpet weaving and handicrafts — continue to operate under close scrutiny.

A fragile lifeline

According to the UN Development Programme (UNDP), it has supported more than 89,000 small enterprises across Afghanistan, 91% led by women, generating over 439,000 jobs.

“These are sectors where women have historically worked, so they face less resistance,” said Waheeb Al Eryani, UNDP’s area manager in Mazar-i-Sharif. “But acceptance does not mean ease.”

Many women face resistance inside their own homes. Shaista Hakimi, a widow and mother of three, runs a women-only restaurant in Mazar-i-Sharif. Since her husband’s death, she says her father-in-law has pressured her to shut it down.

“He says people will laugh at us because my daughter-in-law is working,” she said.

Despite the pressure, her restaurant has become a vital community space and employs 18 women, offering one of the few income opportunities available to them.

UN support amid strict controls

UNDP loans and grants have helped women like Hakimi and Zafar keep their businesses afloat. Hakimi is now seeking a matching grant to expand her restaurant and secure safer housing, while Zafar rebuilt her tailoring business after receiving subsidised financing. She now employs 16 women.

Yet Taliban-imposed restrictions continue to suffocate growth. Women cannot travel freely, deliver goods or negotiate contracts without male relatives.

“Especially if we want to deliver products to other provinces, we cannot do that,” Zafar said.

As a result, many businesses rely on husbands, brothers or sons to act as intermediaries. “Male relatives sell the products or finalise deals,” Al Eryani explained.

Barriers remain high

Access to finance and markets remains severely limited. The UN estimates that only four per cent of Afghan women have access to international markets, while securing loans often requires multiple guarantors — an impossible hurdle for many.

Despite this, women-led enterprises have stepped up as Afghanistan faces another crisis: the return of millions of migrants from Iran and Pakistan. UNDP says several women-owned businesses have employed 20 to 40 returnees each, turning aid recipients into contributors.

An uncertain future

The outlook remains bleak. With girls barred from education beyond Year 6, the next generation of Afghan women risks losing the skills needed to manage businesses or finances, according to the UN.

“The support we receive is not enough,” Zafar said. “There is no access to education or financial training.”

UN officials warn that while Afghan women continue to show resilience, their space to operate is shrinking. Without broader rights, education access and sustained international assistance, even these small economic lifelines may disappear.

For now, Afghan women entrepreneurs remain a quiet backbone of their communities — defying restrictions, creating jobs and refusing to vanish from public life, even as policies continue to push them to the margins.