Husna began producing milk, yogurt, and qaimaq— the thick cream that sits on Afghan tables at breakfast. Her family ate first. What was left, she sold. Nothing was wasted; even the manure went to the fields or to market. And she began saving money. With disciplined persistence, Husna accumulated enough capital to open a small shop. Today, she runs the shop alongside her younger sister, selling their dairy products as well as eggs and household essentials.
Her story points to a larger question. How many Husnas are there across South and Central Asia, women with the talent, discipline, and ambition to transform a single opportunity into a livelihood, a business, even a future, but who never receive that opportunity? How many never gain access to the classroom, the loan, the livestock, or the chance to prove what they can do?
And what does the world forfeit when they don ' t? The answer, researchers have found, is staggering. It stretches into the trillions.
Husna and her sister tending their shop in Badakhshan, Afghanistan
“ This support [ from CAI ] did not just give us a cow,” Husna says.“ It gave us a new life.”
A dairy producer checking on her products at Kadbano Dairy Center in Etarchi Village, Afghanistan
8 | 2026-2027 JOURNEY OF HOPE
The $ 30 Trillion Question
In 2018, the World Bank published“ Missed Opportunities: The High Cost of Not Educating Girls.” Its central finding was striking: failing to ensure girls complete 12 years of education costs countries between $ 15 trillion and $ 30 trillion in lost lifetime productivity and earnings.¹ For perspective, $ 30 trillion exceeds the annual economic output of the United States. The reasons are straightforward. Education increases earning potential at every stage of life. Research shows that even preschool and primary education are associated with higher lifetime earnings, while women who complete secondary school are more likely to participate in the workforce and can earn nearly twice as much as those who do not.² The benefits extend far beyond individual students. Educated women are more likely to invest in their families, support their children ' s education, participate in their communities, and contribute to stronger local economies. When multiplied across the roughly 130 million girls worldwide who are currently out of school, the economic consequences become enormous.
Yet the true cost of exclusion cannot be measured in dollars alone. Behind every estimate is a girl whose education was interrupted, delayed, or never begun. In the three countries where CAI works— Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan— the barriers facing women and girls vary widely. Some are political. Others are economic, geographic, or social. But all carry a similar consequence: fewer opportunities for women, weaker outcomes for families, and a loss of talent and potential that affects entire communities for generations.
CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE