Bitcoin: How Afghan Women Regained Control of Their Salaries

Twelve words to secure their savings. In 2013, Roya Mahboob -- whom we featured in a profile in 2023 -- ran a tech company in Herat, Afghanistan, where most of the employees were women. Paying them in cash exposed everyone to danger and did not even guarantee that they would keep their salaries. She then decided to pay them part of their wages in bitcoin.

Thirteen years later, the co-founder of the Digital Citizen Fund reflects on this experience in a personal op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal. Her account does not present Bitcoin as a perfect solution, but as a usable tool when banks and payment networks become inaccessible.
Key points from this article:

• Roya Mahboob used bitcoin to pay her employees in Afghanistan, providing an alternative in the face of the dangers and constraints of cash transactions.

• A collaborator managed to save her savings in bitcoins thanks to the twelve recovery words of her wallet during her escape to Germany in 2016.

Bitcoin: A Salary Afghan Women Could Keep

Every payday worried her, Roya Mahboob recounts in the WSJ. Carrying a large sum of cash through the streets of Herat exposed her to theft. Once the money was distributed, her employees faced another risk: their father, husband, or brother could take their wages back.

The problem escalated when her company partnered with a New York media company to create a platform that paid for articles and videos produced by Afghan women. Several hundred contributors gradually joined the project.

And even though Afghan women could legally open a bank account, cultural constraints and low banking rates in the country made this possibility largely theoretical. Western payment apps did not work either in this conflict-ridden country.

Roya Mahboob was already familiar with hawala, a traditional network of brokers that allows money to be moved without going through a bank. Bitcoin seemed to follow a similar logic, but without relying on an intermediary to validate and settle each transfer.

Her team therefore taught contributors how to create a wallet before starting payments in BTC. For some, it was the first income received directly, which they could save and use without asking for permission.

The experience, however, showed the limits of the system. After bitcoin peaked in 2013, its price plummeted. Competitors then accused the company of deceiving its employees. She claims to have compensated some of them based on the previous value of their wages, at a significant cost to her company. Volatility was then the main (and only?) flaw of this tool. ![In 2013, Roya Mahboob - whom we featured in a profile in 2023 - ran a tech company in Herat, Afghanistan, where most of the employees were women. Paying them in cash exposed everyone to danger and did not even guarantee that they would keep their salaries. She then decided to pay them part of their wages in bitcoin.

Thirteen years later, the co-founder of the Digital Citizen Fund reflects on this experience in a personal op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal. Her account does not present Bitcoin as a perfect solution, but as a usable tool when banks and payment networks become inaccessible. In 2013, Roya Mahboob - to whom we dedicated a portrait in 2023 - led a tech company in Herat, Afghanistan, where most of the employees were women. Paying them in cash exposed everyone to danger and did not even guarantee that they would keep their salary. She then decided to pay them part of their wages in Bitcoin.

Thirteen years later, the co-founder of the Digital Citizen Fund reflects on this experience in a personal op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal. Her account does not present Bitcoin as a perfect solution, but as a usable tool when banks and payment networks become inaccessible. Roya Mahboob's life is a true novel, and Bitcoin is one of the most beautiful chapters -- Source: Account X

Afghanistan: Twelve Words to Cross a Border

However, a collaborator measured its interest a few years later. Threatened, she left Afghanistan in 2016 and crossed Iran and then Turkey before reaching Germany. She lost most of her belongings during her exile but retained access to her bitcoins thanks to the twelve recovery words from her wallet. Her funds were not stored on her phone: this phrase simply allowed her to regain control from a new device.

The fall of Kabul in August 2021 obviously confirmed the fragility of other payment methods. Banks limited withdrawals, cash became scarce, and international transfers were disrupted. Roya Mahboob's own relatives faced difficulties accessing their savings. At that time, there was a noticeable increase in interest among Afghans for cryptocurrencies in the face of the blockage of the banking system.

Yet her work remains focused on education. The Digital Citizen Fund now offers underground courses and a learning platform called Afghan Dreamers Academy. The organization is also developing technology training centers in Afghanistan and beyond.

Bitcoin does not restore rights to Afghan women and does not eliminate difficulties in accessing the Internet. It does not topple totalitarian regimes or tyrants. But in this specific context, it has nevertheless offered something more fundamental to these women: the ability to receive, retain, and sometimes carry away the fruits of their labor. Simply put.

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