By law, women ARE allowed to run their own businesses in Afghanistan, but by tradition, most are NOT. Even in Kabul, many women aren't even allowed to go into a shop without their husband or a "mahram" (male relative).

There was a story on the IPS on Aug. 15 about how five women in Mazar-E-Sharif, in the north, have opened a shop for women, and how many people are furious about it. I hope no one burns it down...

Some shops in Kabul that cater to Westerners allow their female family members to wait on female customers, realizing that many women prefer this.

Internet connectivity is more than decent for international workers, but most Afghans must go to Internet cafes, which are plentiful in Kabul -- not sure about elsewhere. Electricity is a BIG problem, as is literacy.

UNESCO did a story recently about an ICT project north of Kabul for women -- interesting reading:

Increasing information literacy of Afghan women 06-August-2007 "A training programme in Kapisa province, 75 km north of Kabul, provides women and girls with opportunities to gain access to the wider world through ICT."