This blog is the fifth in our series of stories of “Women Who Inspire” for International Women’s Day 2014.

Oistamo Mamadsaidova works with an electric utility in the mountains of Central Asia and knows firsthand the difference that access to electricity makes for women’s lives there. She has been with the Aga Khan Development Network for four years, mainly working with Pamir Energy in Khorog, Tajikistan. Currently she is a Project and Reporting Manager and supports the Business Development team. Last year, Oistamo joined the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. in Washington, DC for a six-month fellowship. You can learn more about her time in the US from her blog here.

At Pamir Energy, Oistamo takes part in writing proposals for the electrification of the cross-border community of Afghanistan, which requires visiting the field and collecting as much useful information as possible. Of these trips, she said. “I like this part of my job because it is an interesting learning process itself and a way of interacting with the communities in a field.”

Asked about Pamir Energy’s impact for women in the mountains, Oistamo says: “I have observed the impact for women through the Cross-Border Electrification Program in Afghanistan. The villages that Pamir Energy connected to its energy grid in Afghanistan experienced electricity for the first time in their history. The Aga Khan Development Network conducted a survey in these villages. Women reported that they no longer have to spend two to three hours a day gathering firewood for cooking and heating. The electricity also helped to relieve them of getting up so early in the morning and preparing cooking fires for breakfast. Women use the time they saved helping their children with homework and housecleaning.”

The electrification programs have a significant impact on the health of women and children. Before the Aga Khan Development Network’s cross-border energy programs, smoke from the wood fires in houses caused respiratory illnesses, especially among women and children who spend more time at home. Electrification reduced the amount of the smoke indoors and consequently reduced the incidence of disease as well.

Here’s an important point: 70 percent of households in that part of Afghanistan now use electricity (instead of wood) for cooking, which means significant savings in time and improved health, especially for women. The power company’s long-term plans to reach 400,000 customers in Afghanistan — many who have never had electricity before – will affect women’s lives dramatically.