(MENAFN- Pajhwok Afghan News)
KABUL (Pajhwok): A 37-year-old woman from the Dasht-i-Barchi area of Kabul, compelled by poverty to start a bakery, wants the government to support the poor and needy.
Zahra runs her small bakery in a corner of her house, working from dawn to dusk, after taking care of household chores and children.
She bakes bread for neighbours and, while doing so, keeps her face covered with a scarf. Zahra told Pajhwok Afghan News she began her work two years ago to support her family.
At 12, Zahra learnt how to bake bread in a clay oven from her mother, though she never imagined that one day she would have to rely on the skill to run a bakery.
She bakes one hundred loaves daily and charges six afghanis per piece, earning around 150 afghanis. As a mother of five, Zahra had no choice but to start the bakery.
Her husband works in the city moving goods on a handcart, earning 10-20 afghanis for each job. On most days, he returns home with little or no money.
Before starting the bakery, Zahra faced severe economic woes, often unable to provide three meals a day for her children. However, her situation has slightly improved since the opening of the bakery. She can now support her family.
She works alone, handling all aspects of the bakery - preparing the dough, baking the bread, and taking it out of the oven. She is not satisfied with her life, saying,“Since my birth, I have been stuck in hardship, poverty and forced labour.”
The smoke from the oven often brings tears to Zahra's eyes, and she wipes them away with her headscarf. She previously burnt wood to heat the oven, but the rising cost of firewood has prompted her to use almond hulls, which create even more smoke.
Zahra, exhaustion writ large on her visage, lamented,“Look at this smoke, look at this fire. There's no choice; no one likes this. Some people complain when the bread gets burnt or if there's a delay.
“If one loaf is a little too crispy, they ask, 'Why is it burnt?' There are a thousand problems, but when you have no other choice, working in a bakery is one of the hardest jobs.”
She added,“When I go to bed at night, my whole body aches - my hands, my feet, my back. I do this out of necessity.”
Zahra's motivation for working so hard is her children.“I started and continue to run this bakery because I want my children to live in peace. I'm trying to protect them from hardships.”
Fatima, Zahra's 12-year-old daughter, said:“My mother works hard to provide us bread, and that's why I help with housework and take care of my one-year-old sister.”
Nargis, Zahra's neighbour, praised her hard work, skills and dedication.“Zahra bakes delicious bread, and I always bring my dough to her bakery for baking.”
sa/mud
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