Get the weekly summary of crypto market analysis, news, and forecasts! This Week’s Summary The crypto market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $2,17 trillion. Bitcoin continues to trade at around $62,300. Ethereum experiences no changes and stagnates at around $2,400. XRP is down by 2%, Solana by 1%, and Dogecoin by 3%. Almost all altcoins are trading in the red, with very few exceptions. The DeFi sector decreased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around…
Cryptocurrencies Are Helping Afghan Women in the Taliban Regime
Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, the economy has been in serious trouble. The new laws imposed by the government severely limit the rights of citizens. This is especially true for women, with vetoes justified by a fundamentalist religious interpretation.
In such a context, cryptocurrencies are demonstrating their power. First, this article will look at a summary of the current political and social situation. Then, we will analyze an exciting story regarding Afghan women and cryptocurrencies following the initial assessment.
The Afghan crisis
Since taking power, the Taliban have imposed a series of mortifications on Afghan women. As a result, a woman in Afghanistan can no longer attend university, not even a teacher.
This is just one example; so many jobs have suddenly become inaccessible for women. As a result, women’s economic and social role in Afghanistan has enormous downsizing.
We also know that 220 female judges decided to hide in the country due to threats from the Taliban. The men who seek revenge against female judges are the same they had sentenced to jail.
In such a complex social context, it is clear that women have had the worst of this political change. A recent estimate says that around 98% of the Afghan population lives in conditions of extreme poverty.
Empowering women through education
In 2015, an Afghan activist decided to launch a women-support project. Fereshteh Forough lives in New Hampshire and is the Code To Inspire project founder.
The initiative is based in the city of Herat and aims to teach local women to write code. Forough has overcome some initial technical difficulties, only to succeed in her work.
The activist explains that the women who studied in this project managed to find good jobs. Often these women were the only ones with an income in the family.
With the new Taliban rules, it is clear that this situation has changed considerably.
Many money transfer services, such as Western Union, operate with difficulty, creating an additional problem. In addition, Forough explains that many US banks have blocked any money transfer towards the land.
This situation prevents the activist from sending money to his students. But, since Forough would like to help this group of women, she wondered how.
The solution came from the world of cryptocurrencies. Transferring money just got easier after helping 100 women create a Binance account.
Now women understand how to use stablecoins, and the Taliban have no control over this system.
Cryptocurrencies as a solution to frozen money transfers
In September 2021, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said cryptocurrencies would play an essential role in the Afghan crisis.
Pattana Dorani, the founder of an organization committed to helping women in Afghanistan, recently talked about cryptocurrencies. Dorani’s idea is to convince the West to unblock the payment channels that operate in the country.
According to her, the Taliban have no understanding and intercepting crypto payments.
Even better, according to Dorani, a link between private banks and cryptocurrencies would be enough to save many families. The activist argues this because, as is well known, the Taliban do not have bank accounts.
The Taliban themselves are in severe financial trouble. Indeed, after leaving the country, the United States imposed several economic sanctions.
One of the most problematic ones for the Taliban is freezing the central bank’s U.S. dollar reserves.
Since operators like Binance allow the conversion of cryptocurrencies to dollars, the Taliban may soon have a new problem.
As more people understand that it is possible to transfer cryptocurrencies to a wallet without geographic limits, the flight of capital could be massive.
In this scenario, the Taliban have imposed limits on money withdrawal. But, again, cryptocurrencies can provide a financial alternative. Several humanitarian organizations are asking for donations in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the country.
What can we learn from this story?
It is certainly not the first time that cryptocurrencies have shown their power in difficult economic situations. Think of Venezuela, a country that has suffered years of high inflation and low confidence in the government.
The encrypted nature of blockchain systems is undoubtedly an advantage in these particular situations. Therefore, the hope is that the socio-political scenario in Afghanistan will improve in the coming months.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies can be good support for local families.
Vitalik Wants To Make Some NFTs Untradeable, Similarly To ‘World Of Warcraft’ Items
Undercollateralized vs. Collateralized Loans in DeFi
Written by
More author posts
Publish your own article
Guest post article. Guaranteed publishing with just a few clicks
START PUBLISHING ADVERTISE WITH US