“They looked at me with contempt, as if I was committing the worst crime imaginable”

“I am Hadisa, a 28-year-old woman who, after my father’s death, took on all the responsibilities of my family, including a younger sister, a younger brother and an elderly mother. 

Before August 2021, I worked as a saleswoman in a shop, supporting my family with the income I earned. Due to working full-time and economic difficulties, I was deprived of going to university for several years. After much effort, I managed to study at a private university for a year and a half, fulfilling my dream of getting an education. However, I was unaware that the Taliban’s conservative rules would soon change my fate dramatically. 

The day my city was captured by this tribal group, I closed the store in fear and horror, went home and spent the whole night crying. I even took sleeping pills to get some rest. The store remained closed for three days while the entire territory of Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban. I had no hope for my life.  

After three days, my employer contacted me and said: ‘Come back to work, but we still don’t know what will happen to you as women; it’s uncertain’. When I returned to the store and resumed work, I was always tense, expecting a Taliban member to come in and shoot me. This fear intensified when all the male shopkeepers came in and said: ‘Why have you come? The Taliban consider it impossible for a woman to work as a shopkeeper’. 

I spent almost a week in this manner, in fear and terror, until a group of three Taliban members entered the shop in late August. With a stern tone, they demanded that the shop-owner dismiss me. One of them explicitly told my employer, ‘If I see this lady or any other woman working as a salesperson in your shop again, I will publicly shoot both of you to serve as a lesson for others’. 

Helpless and in despair, I returned home and could no longer provide for my family. I remained unemployed for a while and couldn’t find a job. We were in such dire circumstances that I could barely afford dry bread. Eventually, I had to switch to street vending and have been selling goods on the streets ever since. However, constant harassment and intimidation from the Taliban, as well as provocative and obscene men, present me with horrible challenges.