A women-only restaurant has opened in Mazar-e-Sharif city in Balkh province with the aim being to bring hope to women and encourage them to start small businesses, despite the difficult circumstances in the country.
Rahila Yusufi, the founder of the restaurant, said she hopes to also provide employment opportunities for women.
Yusufi has invested at least 200,000 AFN ($2,300) in the business.
“I ask other women to come up with similar initiatives for women,” she told Amu on Wednesday.
“Demanding money from a husband, father and mother is not a decent thing. Instead, they (women) should work hard and become self-reliant,” Yusufi said.
The move comes as women face increasing restrictions by the Taliban in their social lives. Wearing long dresses and hijab, and restrictions on visiting recreation areas are two of many curbs imposed by the Taliban on women over the past year.
“This is the first time I am here… It is a good move for boosting women’s presence in society. The authorities should provide more facilities to women,” said restaurant patron, Raihana.
Recently, classes were separated for male and female students at Balkh University and certain days were allocated for women to visit the Blue Mosque in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
“Fortunately, a restaurant for women was created by a woman and now women can enjoy food in a safe environment,” said Mahbuba, a Balkh resident.
“Every woman, even if she has a small business, can create jobs for other women so that society can be freed from poverty,” she added.
This comes after the World Bank stated in a report on October 7 that the Taliban’s restrictive policies on women’s education and work will lower Afghanistan’s growth prospects.
The chamber of commerce and industry in Balkh meanwhile said women will have their full support if they want to start businesses.
“As women’s problems have increased, we do not charge membership rights for them in the chamber of commerce,” said Imamuddin Sanaeezada, head of the chamber, who attended the opening ceremony of the restaurant on Tuesday.
The UN development agency in a recent report said that a year after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the country faces “cascading crises,” adding that restricting women from employment can result in an economic loss.
The report said that humanitarian aid alone cannot address the country’s crippled economy.
