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Three years ago, Frozan, now 19-years-old, obtained a small
loan, bought two beehives and learned about apiculture from Hand
in Hand International, a non-governmental organization that
focuses on poverty.
The bees collected nectar from flowers growing near her home in
the Marmul district in the northern Balkh province. Their first
harvest produced about 16kg (35lb) of honey, which enabled
Frozan to pay back her loan and still have money left over.
She now has 12 beehives and last year collected 110kg of honey,
which earned her 100,000 Afghanis ($1,450) in a country where
GDP per capita is only about $600.
"The village I live in is a traditional village and women are
not allowed to work outside," says Frozan, who goes by one name.
"But when I started beekeeping I realized that it's an easy
task. I told the people about beekeeping and then they accepted
it."
Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the lives and status of
women in society have improved significantly. But traditions,
insecurity and recently a decline in international donors, have
slowed progress.
A Human Rights Watch report, quoting government officials, says
85 percent of the 3.5 million children who don't go to school
are girls. Only 37 percent of adolescent girls are literate
compared with 66 percent of adolescent boys.
Frozan is now in her final year of school and would like to
study economics and grow her business, goals that may now be
possible for her and her three siblings thanks to her income
stream.
She says looking after tens of thousands of bees can easily be
done between studies and household chores and her father,
Ismail, who is a farmer like much of Marmul's population,
supports his daughter's enterprise.
"It has been my dream to have a daughter who could find a job
like this and make a future for herself," he says.
Every few weeks, Ismail takes the fresh honey to Mazar-i-Sharif,
the provincial capital, more than 50km away, where it's sold to
shops and consumed mainly by local customers.
While industry data is scant, local media citing government
officials say Afghanistan's honey production has risen in recent
years, hitting 2,000 tonnes in 2015. Several varieties such as
acacia, almond flower, and basil are now available.
However, infrastructure constraints mean most of this honey
never leaves Afghanistan.
(Reporting By Abdul Saboor in Kabul; Writing by Masako Iijima in
Singapore; Editing by Sam Holmes)
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