The women’s savings bank provides loans, hope and friendship
The women in the village of Charmgari have formed a women’s council and launched a savings bank. Using the bank, they not only take out loans and invest in their own farms, they also make decisions on what their lives should look like and how their village should develop. They also laugh a lot.
Halima Amiri greats us with a proud smile. She is the leader of the so-called women’s shura, or development council, in the village of Charmgari. The village consists of 30 simple houses built in-between small patches of farmland. The town of Aybak, which serves as the capital of the province of Samangan in northern Afghanistan, is not far away.
The women’s council in Charmgari is divided into two groups called Bahar (Spring) and Parvaneh (Butterfly). They were launched two years ago with assistance from SCA. Most of the women are widows or the sole breadwinners of their households. They have received assistance to form a collective savings bank to which they all contribute a small amount of money each month.
The women can use the savings bank for receiving interest-free loans. By means of these loans, they can buy seeds for growing spinach, watermelon, potatoes or carrots in their fields or for raising lambs, calves and chicken.
The women then sell their fruit and vegetables, as well as milk and yogurt from the animals, at the local market. These incomes may then be used for paying off their loans and saving for the household. The savings bank also serves as an insurance fund if someone gets seriously ill and needs medicines.
“Before the shura, we just stayed at home and had almost no money. We barely knew what was going on in the neighborhood. Now, we not only have money. We also have friendship where we share joy, sorrow and our memories,” says Halima Amiri. The other women nod in agreement.
“The bank may look like a small box but what’s inside is a big miracle for us. Many thanks to all the people who’ve helped us,” says Halima Amiri.
As a result of the women’s council, the women have gotten to know each other better. They now spontaneously go and visit one another. Something that hardly ever happened before.
Only a few of the women can read and write. When Adela Khoram pays back part of the loan she used for buying a calf, she puts a thumbprint in the ledger. The other women do the same thing. Meanwhile, they talk and laugh cheerfully.
At the home of Zar Khanoum, we find her husband making tea. A young boy by the name of Sahel (aged six), who lost his parents in an earthquake in the province of Takhar three years ago, also lives here. As an orphan, he was placed in a prison. Here, he got to know a relative of Zar Khanoum, who brought the boy home with him after having served his sentence.
The small family takes care of a lamb bought by Zar Khanoum using a loan from the women’s council. Sahel like likes to feed the lamb with hay. Sabra Mohammadi is a widow. She has six children, five of whom still live in the village. In order to sustain herself, she has bought a cow and a few chickens through the women’s council.
One son has left the village to move to Iran. He was going to work there but had an accident. Sabra Mohammadi has not heard a word from him since. She cries when talking about him. The other women comfort her. She then bursts into laughter when trying to catch the chickens. They also need to be in the photo.
Having a large pit in the ground on the farm does not make it any easier. Before the chickens are captured, we have all fallen into the pit. It looks extremely funny. Afterward, everyone is offered walnuts and the women continue their conversation.
TEXT: Anna Ek, SCA
SCA’S MODEL FOR DEVELOPMENT –
How SCA cooperates with development councils
The responsibility of the Afghan state to ensure that everyone participates equally in public life is far from met as a result of conflict, corruption and a weak state. People in rural areas are often disadvantaged. They need to improve their living conditions by themselves. However, women and people with disabilities are being marginalized.
As a result, SCA collaborates with village councils, so-called shuras. In these councils, decisions are made that are crucial for the local population. The councils with which SCA collaborates are elected by means of democratic andsecret ballots. They are referred to as development councils and must include women and people with disabilities.
Within the framework of the village councils, SCA assists women in terms of forming their own groups for joint and small-scale savings in order to create income-generating work and businesses.