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Thomson Reuters Foundation
LONDON
Three years ago a schoolgirl in rural Afghanistan took out a small loan and bought two beehives. In her first year she harvested 16 kg (35 lb) of honey, enough to repay the loan and leave her with a small profit.
In 2016 Frozan, who is now in her final year at school, earned 120,000 afghanis ($1,728) from the 120 kg that her burgeoning collection of 20 beehives produced - a sizeable sum given that the country's GDP per person is around $600 a year."It is unique for a girl in a rural area like mine to have a private business and make a considerable income, but I trusted myself, took the chance, worked hard and made a success of it,"the 19-year-old said by phone from the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
Frozan, who goes by one name, is the first schoolgirl in northern Balkh province's Marmul district to keep bees.
A beekeeping novice three years ago, Frozan was taught by the charity that provided the loan how to look after the bees, how to extract honey, and how to improve its quality and volume.
"It is not time-consuming. I do my daily chores at home, I go to school and I can look after the beehives,"she said. Her story is unusual in other ways too. Women and girls in Afghanistan are discriminated against on a regular basis, says UN Women, and that includes facing severe restrictions on working and studying outside their home. Citing government figures, Human Rights Watch said last year that 85 percent of the 3.5 million Afghan children not in school are girls. And while two-thirds of adolescent boys are literate, the figure for girls is little more than half that.
That is not the situation for Frozan. The beekeeping profits pay for her and two younger sisters to attend school, and also help her father meet the costs of running a home.
"I am very happy to be self-reliant. I am also glad to have an income and be able to help my father and my sisters,"she said. The World Bank's latest figures show 39 percent of Afghanistan's population lives below the poverty line. And, it said last year, unemployment had worsened - particularly in rural areas. Although the position of women has improved significantly since the collapse of the Taliban regime in 2001, said UN Women, traditional practices and insecurity continue to hold them back.
That is one reason why Hand in Hand International - the UK-based charity that loaned Frozan the money to start her business - focuses on women.
"They are a vulnerable group and did not have much in the way of employment opportunities in the past,"said Rafi Azimi, who works for the charity's regional office in Mazar-i-Sharif.
