Kandahari Women

After decades of war and violence, Kandahar and Southern Afghanistan remain impoverished and insecure. Kandahari women, in particular, continue to face violence, severe restriction of movement, poverty, lack of rights, lack of access to education, and lack of access to basic health. Over 90% of women in Kandahar are illiterate, unable to read simple street signs or sign their names. As a traditionally conservative and patriarchal society, women are restricted to housework and childcare and are often confined to their homes, risking violence if they venture out without a male family member. Illiteracy and restricted movement contribute to lack of access to medical care or basic health information. Kandahar Treasure believes that these women, who are now earning an income through the revival of traditional embroidery, are central to bringing peace to Afghanistan as they invest in their children and gain the confidence, education, and economic leverage to stand up for their rights.

Artisan Voices

Shajana, Kandahari artisan and workers' advocate: Shajana looks too young to be the mother of nine and grandmother of three, but she is. Working with Kandahar Treasure has given her confidence and empowered her so that she now feels free to express herself. She is deeply concerned about the violence in Kandahar and indeed once suggested that the women in her community march in protest. She has become an avid advocate for the workers at the organization, a public role she would have shied away from previously.

Khamak Embroidery

Women from Southern Afghanistan practice a rare form of hand embroidery with silk thread, Khamak. Khamak is an intricate art that involves counting the threads of fabric weave rather than drawing and copying patterns. This technique, inspired by Islamic geometric design and floral motifs, is thought to be at the root of a number of embroidery techniques throughout South Asia and the Middle East. Due to the long-standing war, it is also an art form at risk of extinction. Traditionally, khamak was used to decorate the shawls of Southern Afghan men, women's head-coverings, and table linens. Today, the women of Kandahar Treasure build on these traditional motifs in creating new designs. They produce khamak as a vital source of income, a way of preserving a fading traditional art, and an opportunity to escape the stress of daily life and focus on creativity and beauty.

Region: South Asia

Capital: Kabul

Population: 29,121,286 (2010)

Size: Slightly smaller than Texas

Languages: Afghan Persian or Dari (official), Pashto (official), Turkic languages, much bilingualism

Major religion(s): Muslim 99% (80% Sunni, 19% Shia)

Literacy rate: Total 28.1%; Men 43.1%; Women 12.6%

Poverty rate: 36% of the population lives below the poverty line

Maternal mortality rate: Lifetime risk of death in childbirth 1 in 8

Average number of years in school: Men 11 years; Women 4 years

Did you know: The national sport of Afghanistan is buzkashi, or “goat-grabbing”, a traditional Central Asian team sport played on horseback. The object of the game is to grab the carcass of a goat or calf and pitch it across a goal line.

All statistics from CIA World Factbook 2010 and UNICEF

Afghanistan is home to many different cultures and religious traditions. However, years of civil war, Soviet invasion, and Taliban rule have made it one of the poorest and least developed nations in the world. The Soviet Union invaded and occupied Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, when it was defeated by mujahideen forces backed by the U.S. The Taliban, an Islamic Fundamentalist group that had received much of the U.S. funding, began to capture cities throughout Afghanistan, claiming total control over the country by 1996. Their oppressive regime was formally overthrown in 2001 by the U.S. and its partners in the anti-terrorist coalition, who continue to occupy the country in order to combat the Taliban insurgency.

Women
Under the Taliban, oppression and violence against women was sanctioned. They faced discrimination in every aspect of their lives. Afghan women were not allowed to go to school, work outside of their homes, or appear in public without wearing a burqa (full-body covering that exposes only the eyes) and accompanied by a male relative. They were denied access to health care and were forbidden to speak out. Women who had been professors and doctors found themselves without work and subject to violence. As a result female rates of illiteracy skyrocketed, leaving an entire generation of girls uneducated; even now, the national literacy rate is under 30%, with the rate for women less than half that. Women suffered from anemia and vitamin D deficiency because they did not have access to sufficient sunlight. This legacy remains as women still face discrimination at the hands of both government and society.

Health
Afghanistan has one of the least-developed health care systems in the world: medical training is nearly nonexistent, government services are minimal, and there is no welfare system. The majority of rural areas do not have hospitals or doctors and most Afghans do not have access to clean water. As a result, the country has extensive health problems: high rates of maternal mortality, low life expectancy, widespread malnutrition, poor sanitation and hygiene, and high instances of preventable diseases. Because male physicians are banned from caring for female patients and women were prevented from training to be doctors under Taliban rule, today, women have particular trouble accessing health care.

Drug Trade
The weakness of the Afghan state in recent decades has led to increased economic growth in one sector only: illicit drug production. Poppy cultivation and the opium trade now account for more than half of Afghanistan's GDP; the country is the source of about 70% of the world's illegal opium. Concentrated in the rural provinces of the country, drug production provides income to many tribal ethnic groups and funds the ongoing Taliban insurgency. Drug control efforts have been hampered by Taliban control in many regions, as well as the farmers' dependency on poppy crops. Providing alternate sources of income is an important step towards weaning the country from its reliance on the illicit drug trade.