About Us
A Global Mission, Close to Home
As a social enterprise, we work to empower women through the cultivating and selling of Afghan saffron to international markets. Our profits are reinvested into our female suppliers, training them to produce higher quality saffron, renting equipment, and growing their business.
A Critical Opportunity
Saffron presents a critical opportunity in Afghanistan, where years of war and opium production have ravaged the lives of women in Afghanistan. Many women have lost the men in their family, forcing them to become the sole breadwinners in an economy that offers few opportunities to women.
This challenge is compounded by the preexisting conditions, declared by Amnesty International as the most dangerous place to be a woman in the world.
- 90% of women have experienced domestic abuse
- 70-80% of women face forced marriages, many before the age of 16
- 87% are illiterate, preventing them from taking on work and communicating
- Two thirds of Afghan girls do not attend school, trapping them in a cycle of economic dependence
When women are reliant on others for survival, this status quo will never change. We believe that with saffron, Afghan women can achieve something that most have never had — financial independence.
Nazaneen Qauomi speaks to The Morning Show at Tolo TV about how she founded Red Gold of Afghanistan and the mission of this social enterprise.