Photo: Gul Afroz cleaning a canal in Herat Province. © ILO

For 12 years, Gul Afroz, a 46-year-old widow from Khwaja Qasim Village in Herat Province, has been the sole provider for her seven children. To put food on the table and keep her children in school, she took on any manual labour she could find.

“Despite doing the same work as men, I was always paid less,” Gul Afroz remarked. “Gender inequality is a reality in remote villages like ours. Over time, I learned to accept it.”

That reality shifted when she attended a local community meeting that introduced her to a new village infrastructure project funded by STFA. The officer explained the recruitment process and emphasized a strict policy: The project offered equal pay for equal work, guaranteeing a daily wage of 450 Afghanis ($7) for all workers, regardless of gender.

“When I heard I would be paid the same as the men, I was shocked,” Gul Afroz recalled. “I immediately filled out the application form to join.”