Archive for October, 2010

Afghan businesswomen are stepping forward to repair the damage caused by men, a Project Artemis graduate said during the program’s commencement ceremony Oct. 29, 2010, at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona.

“If we look at the history of our country, usually men make the mistakes and we, as women, have to repair the mistakes,” said Najiba Faiz, who spoke in Dari through an interpreter. “As an Afghan woman, I want to affirm that a woman is capable of holding a cradle in one hand and the world in the other.”

Faiz, who owns a food processing company in Herat, spoke on behalf of the 2010 Project Artemis class of 19 women entrepreneurs. The fellows spent two weeks at Thunderbird in a mini MBA program that included site visits, classroom lectures and one-on-one coaching from mentors assigned to each participant for the next two years.

The fellows will spend next week in Washington, D.C., with the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council before returning to Afghanistan.

Faiz said her country has entered a new era of prosperity and development following 30 years of war, and women are playing a key role in the reconstruction. “Of course Afghanistan needs the help of the female population,” she said. “As Afghan women, we are optimistic that we will bring peace, stability and prosperity in our country soon.”

She said each Project Artemis fellow is a role model in her community. The program, which Thunderbird launched in 2005, has produced 63 graduates in four classes.

Faiz said programs such as Project Artemis that emphasize education play an important role in Afghanistan. “No country can accomplish what it wants without the education of its people,” she said.

She said foreign invasions and other conflicts have hampered education in Afghanistan, especially for the women oppressed during the Taliban era from 1996 to 2001.

“We must not forget that a few years ago, these women sitting here were not even able to leave their homes alone,” Faiz said. “If they did, the Taliban would threaten them and whip them.”

Faiz received a standing ovation following her remarks. Watch her full presentation in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video:

By Wynona Heim, Thunderbird for Good Program Manager- Afghanistan

Visiting the Starshine Academy, we were all reminded of why programs like Artemis are making a difference. Starshine teaches on a philosophy of Global Citizenship – very much like Thunderbird, but at the primary and secondary level. Students not only learn core subject matter, but also learn gardening, good citizenship and leadership skills.

At Starshine, each student must choose a foreign nation that they must learn about and be an “ambassador” to. We were all so delighted to meet two students who were Ambassadors for Afghanistan. We taught them to say Salaam (Hello) and Tashakor (thank you), and took our usual 100 pictures with them – they really lived up to their titles, helping with a tour of the school, taking pictures of and with the Artemis fellows, and handing out drinks – two very welcoming young gentlemen!

The ladies heard about Starsine’s new franchising plans, which the Starshine founders credited a previous Artemis class with inspiring them to do – “a gift to the world of education from the women of Afghanistan.” Needless to say, the Artemis fellows were honored and excited by this.

The visit was short, but so very sweet, and then we were back on the bus and headed for the greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. At the Chamber, we heard about local business mentoring programs, and how business people continue to grow and improve with the help of others. Many wonderful pieces of advice were shared about business ownership, mentoring, and striving to improve yourself and your organization. One that seemed the most fitting for the Artemis fellows was: “Do one thing every day that scares you. This guarantees that you will learn something every day.”

By Emily Winans, Evening Accelerated MBA ‘11

Yesterday was one of the days I will always remember when I reflect back on my time at Thunderbird. I had the privilege of joining the women in Project Artemis Afghanistan for their day trip to Sedona. The incredible energy of the women was apparent on the bus ride as they sang songs and encouraged a fellow student to entertain them with song and dance.

Upon arriving to Sedona, many of the women commented that the scenery was beautiful and that there was a similar place in Afghanistan. The day began with an off road jeep tour, which all of the women thoroughly enjoyed, shouting, joking and laughing the entire way. The excitement of the jeep tour was followed up by a visit to the home of Sarah McLean for a discussion on meditation. During the session, the women discussed their every day stresses that come from security issues, work, and family. After an explanation of the philosophy behind and benefits of meditation, we completed two meditation exercises. It felt like the afternoon of meditation surrounded by incredible views of Sedona’s red mountains reinvigorated everyone before heading back to Glendale.

I was very impressed with the women that I met on the trip. They were incredibly friendly and enjoyed speaking about Afghanistan and their professional backgrounds. I enjoyed hearing their perspectives and about their experience working in Afghanistan. One woman spoke to me about another female entrepreneur in Afghanistan who felt her biggest challenge was her inability to interact with her market. She receives all of her knowledge about the market from her husband and father because she is limited to spending most of her time in her home.

Another woman described to me what she felt would be the path to empower women. She talked about how she is working, going to school, and financially supporting the education of two of her sisters. She said that as women are educated and secure jobs, it creates a more financially secure future for the entire family. For example, if the father becomes very sick, his daughters can work and support the family. She believes that this will be key to the empowerment of women. People who see women in other families making financial contributions, will want the women in their family to do the same in order to create more financial stability.

By Leah Kumayama, MA candidate, Global Affairs and Management ‘10

Tonight I attended a “girls night in” with the Project Artemis fellows and it was an unforgettable experience.  When the women first appeared, some of them were wearing bright and colorful clothes and headscarves.  I complimented one woman on her clothing.  “This is very beautiful,” I said.  She replied with, “Your eyes are beautiful.  It is a common saying in Dari.”  I was taken aback and did not quite understand what she meant.  She explained, “Your eyes are what see the things that are beautiful.”  I thought that was such a wonderful phrase and immediately knew I would enjoy the evening and became more eager to learn about the women.

We ate Indian food together and watched some of a Bollywood film; however, the evening’s events quickly turned into a dance party full of culture sharing, joy, encouragement, and bonding between women of various backgrounds.  I was aware that the Afghan women were from different provinces around the country and that getting to know one another would be an eye-opening and barrier-breaking experience for them.  Yet, I think the women were intrigued by our (the student volunteers) dancing styles, interactions, and interest in them.  At one point, my friend and I noticed how amazing it was that we were all dancing to Shakira’s (a Columbian) World Cup song about Africa with Afghans, Americans, an Indian, and a Costa Rican.   We shared cultures through dance and music and ultimately felt closer to each other by the end of the night.

The entire experience moved me.  Almost all of the women took off their head scarves, let their hair down, and danced without any inhibitions.  It was so fascinating to see Afghan women in a way I had never seen them before.  I met some of them earlier this week at another Artemis event that was publicly held and more formal.  But tonight, they were different people because they were able to show their true selves.  I wondered how these women live their everyday lives hiding these bright and beautiful personalities from the world and society.  We held hands, hugged, danced together, and by the end of the night we had established a friendship.  When I had to leave the dance party, I said goodbye to them and kissed them three times on the cheek, promising to see them again next week.  One woman said she would never forget this night and I undoubtedly agreed with her.  I thought to myself how this was a once in a lifetime experience and how lucky I was not only to see these women in their natural state, but also to be able to join in on the festivities.  Had I not worked with coordinating volunteers for Project Artemis, I might not have known about and attended this event, and for that I am grateful and extremely proud to be a part of something so amazing.

By Amanda Roberson, MBA candidate 2012

Masooda Abdul Khaliq has an important task on her hands. In two days, she will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to represent a group of Afghani women entrepreneurs studying business at Thunderbird through Project Artemis.  Masooda does not take this responsibility lightly. She is carefully surveying all 20 members of her Project Artemis class to get their input as to what she should say to Mrs. Clinton.

“I have to talk to each of the women to find out their concerns,” Masooda explains. She will speak not only on her own behalf, but as a representative of a strong community of women who have succeeded in starting a business in one of the world’s toughest environments for women to live, let alone do business. Her dark brown eyes are serious and focused, yet she smiles easily as we sit at a table in Thunderbird’s Commons dining area and chat about her past, the challenges of being a women entrepreneur in Afghanistan, her impressions of the United States and her dreams for the future.

Before coming to Thunderbird for two weeks this October, Masooda, 26, participated in 10,000 Women, a program funded by the Goldman Sachs Foundation and run through a partnership between Thunderbird and the American University of Afghanistan to train this ambitious number of women entrepreneurs in five years. Through Project Artemis, Masooda is building on this foundation and expanding her knowledge about growth strategy and leadership.

After graduating from the 10,000 Women program, she started a food processing business making and distributing jam and pickles. She now employs 23 people, 21 of whom are women. Her two male employees are her brothers, who serve as the company’s heads of marketing and finance. Having men in these positions was strategic, Masooda explains. In the Ghazni province where she lives, women cannot freely leave the home, making vital parts of her operation such as purchasing fruit, collecting payments and delivering products impossible for her and her women employees to carry out. Massooda solved this problem by employing men to serve as the company’s public-facing representatives. Meanwhile, her network of women employees is equipped with the tools they need to make and package jams in their homes.

The idea for the business was inspired by Afghanistan’s bountiful fruits. “This business is easier than others because the raw material was available and within reach of the women,” she said. Mangos, apples and cherries go into her jams, while cucumbers are used to make pickles, a popular item in Afghanistan.

Masooda met her network of women in-home producers through a community development organization. Many are widows, and the business provides a way for them to support their families.

During her two weeks at Thunderbird, Massoda has had the opportunity to take classes in the fundamental business skills she hopes will allow her to continue expanding her business, such as branding and packaging. She will share what she learns with her employees back home and apply them to her business. “I would like to establish a company that can produce enough jam to sell all over the country and then expand into Pakistan and Iran,” she explains.

Masooda wants her business to give hope to women in Afghanistan who do not enjoy the same freedoms she does. She explains that her background is unique — her family supported her decision to study at the University of Kabul, and they now stand behind her as she grows her business.

“As the first woman in my family to go to college, I paved the way for my cousins to study as well,” she said. “By studying, we show people that women are not weak and we continue paving the way.”

During her time at Thunderbird, Masooda has had the opportunity to meet many professors and students through her classes and the activities arranged as part of the program, which have included a trip to Sedona and shopping excursions.

“People are very kind here. They listen carefully to what you have to say,” she said. When asked what she wants to tell people she meets in the United States about Afghanistan, she says she wants to let them know that there is more to her country than the images of war and destruction portrayed in the media.

“People like to work in Afghanistan. We have towns and cities, just like the United States does. But people need more opportunities, especially women,” she said. This was the key message she delivered to Hillary Clinton during their brief meeting, she tells me when we meet up upon her return from Washington D.C.

When she returns to Afghanistan, Massooda is excited to tell her friends and family about her meeting with Mrs. Clinton and about her experiences in Arizona. She is also eager to apply what she learned in the classroom to her business. Although she knows she will continue to face many challenges and that progress may be slow, Masooda looks brightly into the future and hopes to continue paving the way for others to follow in her footsteps.

By Katie McDevitt

Nasrin Nuristani is like any hardworking entrepreneur. She wants to market her business, manage her money and succeed long-term.

The only difference is that 24-year-old Nuristani is a woman operating in a male-dominated industry in a war-ravaged country where women have been suppressed for years.

As the owner of a 25-person construction company based in Kabul, Nuristani said that doing business in dangerous areas is the easy part, but getting approval to move forward on those projects can be challenging.

“Because I’m a local Afghan, it’s not difficult for me to work in a war zone,” Nuristani said. “But I face a lot of difficulties in getting the project and going through the paperwork. It’s a lengthy process.”

Nuristani recently arrived at Thunderbird as one of 20 women entrepreneurs in the 2010 Project Artemis. The program is a business training program that aims to build the entrepreneurial skills of promising Afghan businesswomen.

Over the span of two weeks, Nuristani will take courses on business growth strategies, bookkeeping, customer service and more. The goal is that when she returns home, she will be able to lead her team to bid more effectively on projects with the provisional reconstruction teams.

In addition to bringing home an enhanced skill set and new knowledge, Nuristani wants to bring home a message of the importance of communication. She wants to see men and women communicate openly and work together.

“We have very narrow minded people in Afghanistan, but it’s not their fault because it was a war zone for 30 years … they don’t have the mentality of people that are well settled.”

Nuristani grew up in Pakistan, where her family fled, and was later educated in France and Canada. She also worked for an airline company and a bank before going into business for herself with her family in Kabul.

Despite the many obstacles Nuristani faces, she said she doesn’t see herself as a role model any more than all of the other woman in Afghanistan.

“The world is ruled by men, it’s not only Afghanistan,” Nuristani said. “Women have always sacrificed their lives for men, but some women like us … they fight for themselves.”

By Heather Kipnis, Thunderbird MBA ‘11

Today, Thunderbird welcomed the 2010 class of Afghan women in Project Artemis Afghanistan – Thunderbird’s unique business-skills training program that aims to build the entrepreneurial skills of promising Afghan businesswomen. Supporting women’s entrepreneurship is becoming increasingly  recognized as an effective means to achieve economic development.   So much so, that both women’s empowerment and gender equality are now key development strategies supported by the Clinton Global Initiative and the United Nations Millennium Goals.

Present at the welcoming reception were Dr. Angel Cabrera, President of Thunderbird, Kellie Keiser, Director of Thunderbird for Good, Wynona Heim, Project Manager for Project Artemis, representatives from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program, Thunderbird staff and faculty, Dari translators, and Thunderbird students.

It was obvious from the smiles and laughter throughout the Herberger Atrium, that everyone was excited for the journey that these 20 women are about to embark upon as they learn new skills and techniques to grow their businesses.  Despite having traveled over 32 hours to arrive at Thunderbird, the women were full of energy and excitement, and eager to learn as much as possible.  Empowered with having just learned how to do a 30 minute commercial, all of the women I spoke with were eager to share their new elevator pitch immediately and hand out their business cards.

Their businesses spanned across industries from electricity to canning jams.  What was most impressive was the number of jobs these businesses have already created.  One woman I spoke with has a furniture making company that employs 72 women!  Another woman had been in business for only one year and already employs her two brothers and 20 women in her home based jam business.  In just these short conversations, it was evident the unbelievable strength these women have, and the incredible impact their businesses have on job creation and economic development in Afghanistan.

I’m looking forward to participating in more Project Artemis events over the next two weeks.  Not only to watch these inspirational leaders learn and grow, but to be inspired by their strength to succeed and unwavering passion for their businesses.

For more information and a photo gallery, follow Thunderbird for Good on Facebook.

Editor’s note: The following entry was first posted Oct. 14, 2010, on Paywand Afghanan, a blog by 2006 Project Artemis fellow Lima Ahmad. The blog documents Lima’s journey as an Afghan businesswoman. She currently is a full-time student at Bucknell Univeristy in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

By Lima Ahmad (Omiad)

It is November 2006. I am so tired just arrived at Phoenix Arizona airport, after two and half days on the way. It is the morning of my first day of Project Artemis. I am going towards my class where everyone is waiting that how the program will start and what we will be doing during these two weeks. I looked around Thunderbird Campus and wondered how lucky the students of this university would be studying here.

Finally, the 2006 Artemis program started, with the welcome speeches by President of Thunderbird University and Artemis program organizers. The two weeks journey continued with classes, fun, classes,  visits and again classes, some fighting among the women participants, homecoming function, Grand Canyon, classes, mentors, fun talk, jokes, visiting businesses, shopping shopping! Yeey! Gym, haircut, classes, waking up daily at 6:00am, meeting MBA students, classes, graduation ceremony, meeting Afghanistan Ambassador, classes, interviewed by TV channels. Oh gosh! I want to go home, I feel tired at the end of two weeks.
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