The Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Roza Otunbayeva, met with a number of Afghan businesswomen and women entrepreneurs.
In a meeting with Afghan women entrepreneurs and businesswomen on Tuesday, November 1, a UN official reportedly discussed opportunities for women-led businesses.
The chief of the UNAMA office reportedly stated in a report from this organization that promoting women’s employment amounts to making an investment in Afghanistan’s future.
Otunbayeva, also the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Afghanistan, stated that the UN supports and encourages Afghan women’s employment opportunities and economic participation.
Women’s engagement in the economy has encountered significant challenges since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan given the Taliban’s stringent policies on Afghan women.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) estimated late last year that the Taliban’s decision to impose limitations on women’s employment would cost the country up to one billion dollars, or 5% of Afghanistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According to UNDP’s assessment, confining women to home will reduce household consumption by half a billion dollars in a country where women make up approximately 20% of the workforce.
Preventing women from working decreased the country’s GDP by 20% in a year after the Taliban took power, along with the suspension of international financial aid, which accounted for 40% of the GDP and 80% of the budget.
