“At times like these, women should never give up, for there is always a way out of difficulties”

Athar

Engineer and merchant, Balkh

girl sifts through purple zafran flowers on a table

“After 15 August, all opportunities for women were extinguished, and with the fall of the Republic, all our dreams and efforts have turned to dust. In those dark days, it felt like everything had come to an end, and the path to progress and advancement had been sealed shut. For a moment, fear and anxiety gripped my mind and I imagined that living freely from then on was a sin.

At that very moment, I regarded Afghanistan as an unsafe and intolerable place for myself and all the educated women who aspired to have careers or were already working. I, who had dreamed for years of working as a civil engineer for my people after completing my education, found myself disheartened by this drastic change.

I saw the future as dark and uncertain for myself and my fellow women because successful women lost the right to education and work. I was deeply concerned and angry about the waste of opportunities for talented women and young girls in our country.

But my faith in God and my self-confidence motivated me to use online opportunities and access to resources. This motivated me to create an online store for selling hygiene and cosmetic products, allowing me to be productive in a different way. Economically, this endeavour has provided an income, and socially, by offering information about products, it has allowed me to provide small services to the best of my ability to the women of my homeland.

For someone like me, who has a passion for writing and poetry, most of the time, I express my heart’s desires through poetry and writing. It also serves as a good way to escape moments of depression and uncomfortable circumstances.

Families should stand by women, support them in claiming their rights, and not leave women alone in such situations. Women should be aware of their rights and benefit from them.

At times like these, women should never give up, for there is always a way out of difficulties. They should fight and not cease their efforts. As long as they have the ability, they should take advantage of the remaining opportunities, learn online initiatives and participate in workshops and seminars.

If they can, they should start small online businesses so that they do not become disheartened in terms of economics, social status and employment opportunities.

My wish is for the nightmare that has gripped my country to end as soon as possible, and for educational, career and work opportunities to be made available for women.”

“In my despair, I reluctantly accepted the burden of a marriage I had always feared”