CONFERENCE FOLLOW UP: Chicago Event: Empowering Women and Rebuilding Afghanistan

I frequently visit the Chicago Council on Global Affairs website to peruse their schedule of multidisciplinary programs, always hoping to find programs on microfinance. When I saw that the Women and Global Development Forum was hosting a program called Rebuilding Afghanistan: A Civilian and Military Perspective, I knew it would be an event not to miss.

Zainab Salbi, Founder and CEO of Women for Women International, represented the civilian perspective and General Walter Natynczyk, Chief of the Defense Staff of the Canadian Forces, offered a military perspective. The speakers discussed the current conditions in Afghanistan based on their own experiences working with the Afghan people. The program centered on a variety of issues involved in nation-building, from government corruption to the role of outside non-governmental organizations. Listening to two perspectives on these topics gave me a more holistic approach on the current and future state of Afghanistan. It was encouraging to see the speakers themselves learning a lot from one another's experiences and perspectives on the situation.

Zainab Salbi stressed that women are empowered when they have greater access to education and resources. She stressed that increased access to resources like microloans can change women's lives. When women graduate from her organization's programs, they are offered microcredit to start their own businesses. Like other supporters of microfinance, she knows that women invest 90% of their incomes in their families and communities, and she has found that they are less likely to be involved in corruption. She shared that while working with Afghan women and helping them expand their businesses, she found that many look to first employ their husbands, further supporting the family.

Salbi's organization views women as key players in the future of Afghanistan, and she hopes that the Afghan government will also begin to see their potential. Although her organization focuses on women, they also emphasize the importance of engaging men in the conversation. She gave one example of a man who was a local Imam who, after working with her organization, decided to focus his Friday sermon on the importance of women's rights.

She is worried that when the Afghan government and other groups such as the Taliban are at the negotiating table, that there is no space carved out for women. She strongly believes that a country's progress is reflected in the way that women are treated. If women lack rights, are not represented in negotiations, and are not viewed as a valuable investment, then a country is not going to progress.

Billions of dollars have already been spent on military efforts in Afghanistan, and both Salbi and General Natynczyk believe that it's essential to invest in the civilian infrastructure of the country–the roads, hospitals, schools and civic programs–so that the Afghan people can live more peaceful and secure lives.

As an intern with Opportunity, I am well aware that when women are empowered financially, they invest heavily in their families and communities, especially their children. It was very interesting to hear these statistics in a program that focused on the rebuilding of a country torn apart by war and corruption, and hearing from experts who see access to microcredit as a sustainable solution, particularly for the women of Afghanistan.