In an industry dominated by men, Raqiba Barmaki has become the only female shopkeeper in Mazar-e-Sharif, the bustling city and pilgrimage site in northern Afghanistan. Although some women operate shops in Kabul, work for women is both hard to find and generally frowned upon. Families without a male breadwinner face particular hardship. With the support of her family and her own determination, however, Barmaki, a former teacher, has broken with tradition.

When she first opened her shop, Barmaki faced hostility from male shopkeepers, but has now been in business for four years. She sells traditional clothes, foodstuffs, cutlery and perfumes in her shop. The clothing is made by Barmaki and her daughters, as well as by other women who cannot sell their goods themselves.

Barmaki also offers a place where women can feel comfortable shopping freely. The recent rise in violence and fear in Mazar-e-Sharif has caused many women to return to wearing burkas, though “just a few years ago many women felt free to go outside with just a headscarf,” as BBC news reports. Yet in Barmaki’s store, women continue to seek advice on opening their own shops and gaining the independence she enjoys. For her own part, Barmaki does not plan to stop with her shop, she has ambitions to one day move to a bigger and better site in a modern shopping center.

Woman’s shop breaks Afghan mould-BBC News