Afghan women farmers call for international support

Editor's note: this story was translated from the original VOA Pashto article.

Women farmers in Afghanistan are calling on the international community for support.

Mumtaz Yousufzai, founder of the Union of Female Farmers in Afghanistan, told VOA that agriculture is the largest sector employing women, with 80 percent of women in rural areas working in the sector.

“In rural Afghanistan, women farmers are working alongside men in the fields, but these women need support,” she added.

On the International Day of Rural Women, observed annually on Oct. 15 to recognize the contributions of rural women worldwide, the United Nations called for women farmers’ “unpaid care work” to be “recognized, reduced, and redistributed.”

Despite restrictions on women in Afghanistan, Yousufzai said that agriculture remains one of the few sectors in which women continue to play a significant role.

Under the Taliban in Afghanistan, women are barred from working with government and non-government organizations, attending secondary schools and universities and traveling a long distance without a close male relative.

However, women are allowed to work in private businesses and work in rural farms and agriculture production.

About 74 percent of Afghanistan’s population live in rural areas, where agriculture is the main source of earning a livelihood.

According to a 2024 World Bank report, agriculture accounts for roughly 34 percent of Afghanistan’s GDP. This includes cultivation of crops and livestock production, forestry, and fishing.

But experts say Afghanistan has been facing “a severe and interconnected” climate and humanitarian crisis. It is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries and is facing worsening acute food insecurity and malnutrition.

Raqiba, who goes by her first name, is a gardener in the De Sabz area of Kabul province.

She told VOA that farmers and gardeners face numerous challenges, including a shortage of irrigation water, limited markets for their products, and a lack of financial support.

“We call on the international community to help rural Afghan women farmers. We need help and support,” said Raqiba.