Rules changed, women adapted Inside Afghanistan’s female-run businesses

规则改变，女性适应：探访阿富汗女性经营的企业内部

Street vendors, tailors, and young designers are reshaping everyday life, balancing faith, family, and survival

街头商贩、裁缝与年轻设计师们正重塑日常生活，在信仰、家庭与生存间寻找平衡

“Hard times create strong men,” goes the saying attributed to G. Michael Hopf. Strong women, too – and Afghan women are a remarkable example of that strength.

正如 G·迈克尔·霍夫所言："艰难时代造就强者"。女性亦然——阿富汗女性正是这种坚韧精神的杰出典范。

Since 2021, the Islamic Emirate has placed limits on women’s employment. Women are banned from government positions, from domestic and international NGOs, and from administrative jobs – for example, a decree issued in December 2024 ordered that female university staff be replaced by their male relatives. In some provinces, women are not allowed to come to work unless accompanied by a male guardian – a husband, father, brother, or son.

自 2021 年以来，这个伊斯兰酋长国对女性就业实施了诸多限制。女性被禁止担任政府公职，不得在国内及国际非政府组织工作，也不能从事行政职务——例如 2024 年 12 月颁布的法令要求用男性亲属取代大学女性教职工。在某些省份，女性必须有男性监护人（丈夫、父亲、兄弟或儿子）陪同才能外出工作。

According to Taliban officials, these prohibitions are based on religious principles and meant to protect women’s dignity. A few years ago, Mohammad Sadiq Akif, spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue, told the Associated Press that a woman “loses her value” if strangers look at her uncovered face – a kind of logic that may be hard for non-religious people to understand.

据塔利班官员称，这些禁令基于宗教原则，旨在维护女性尊严。几年前，塔利班劝善惩恶部发言人穆罕默德·萨迪克·阿基夫曾向美联社表示，若陌生男子看到女性未遮盖的面容，会"贬损她的价值"——这种逻辑或许令非宗教人士难以理解。

Still, many women continue finding ways to earn a living within the strict frxwork of bans, cultural norms, and Islamic values. Starting a business of their own is often the best way to keep that delicate balance.

然而，仍有许多女性在禁令、文化规范和伊斯兰价值观构成的严格框架下谋求出路。自主创业往往成为维持这种微妙平衡的最佳选择。

How bans became business opportunities

禁令如何催生商机

The sizzling sound of oil fills the air as Nargees flips a golden-brown ‘bolani’ – a thin flatbread stuffed with mashed potatoes – over the frying pan.Her hands move fast and sure: roll the dough, spread the filling, crimp the edge, place it on the hot pan. Within seconds, another one joins the pile.

纳吉丝翻转着平底锅中金黄色的"博拉尼"（一种夹着土豆泥的薄面饼），热油滋滋作响的声音弥漫在空气中。她的动作又快又稳：揉面团、铺馅料、捏花边，然后放入热锅中。短短几秒钟，又一张饼摞在了成堆的成品上。

“The number of customers depends on my mood,” she says. “When I’m down, no one comes. When I’m happy – there’s a crowd.”

"顾客多少取决于我的心情，"她说。"当我情绪低落时，没人光顾。当我心情愉快时——顾客就会排起长队。"

At 40, Nargees is a mother of five and once worked as a health educator at Kabul’s Malalai Maternity Hospital. She used to visit poor neighborhoods to teach women about hygiene and family planning. After the Taliban returned to power, that job quietly ended – not because she was banned, but because the women she was supposed to meet no longer felt safe leaving their homes.

40 岁的纳吉丝是五个孩子的母亲，曾担任喀布尔马拉莱妇产医院的健康教育员。她过去常常走访贫困社区，向妇女们传授卫生和计划生育知识。塔利班重新掌权后，这份工作悄然终止——并非因为她被禁止工作，而是因为她要接触的妇女们不再觉得出门是安全的。

Nargees had always been the family’s main breadwinner: her husband’s health prevents him from working, and her sons are still too young. So she didn’t wait for anyone’s permission. She rented a cart, set up a frying pan, and began selling bolani on the street.

纳吉丝一直是家里的顶梁柱：丈夫因病无法工作，儿子们年纪尚小。她没有等待任何人的许可，租了辆手推车，架起煎锅，便开始在街头叫卖波拉尼饼。

The small business turned out to be good enough to keep the family afloat – and, as she puts it, to keep her calm.

这家小生意足以维持全家生计——用她的话说，还能让她保持内心平静。

“I know roughly how much I can earn and what my tomorrow looks like,” she says, pouring more oil into the pan. “That’s comforting. When I’m calm, my children are calm too. I have to be their example.”

"我大致清楚自己能赚多少钱，也知道明天会怎样，"她一边往平底锅里多倒了些油一边说，"这让我感到安心。当我内心平静时，孩子们也会平静下来。我必须成为他们的榜样。"

A little girl in a dirty pink jacket tugs at her sleeve, asking for money. One of the many street children scattered across Kabul. Nargees shakes her head.

一个穿着脏粉色外套的小女孩拽着她的袖子讨钱。这是喀布尔街头随处可见的流浪儿童之一。娜尔吉斯摇了摇头。

“This is what happens when parents stop caring,” she says quietly. “I work so my children never end up like that.”

"这就是父母不再关心孩子的后果，"她轻声说道，"我努力工作就是不想让自己的孩子沦落至此。"

Across the street, another bolani vendor, Humaira, is rolling dough at her own cart. In her late forties, she used to teach the Quran at a girls’ high school before it closed four years ago. Now she’s known in the neighborhood as “Auntie Potato.”

街对面是另一位卖波拉尼的摊主胡迈拉，她正在自己的推车前揉面团。这位年近五旬的妇人曾在女子高中教授古兰经课程，直到四年前学校关闭。如今邻里都称她"土豆阿姨"。

“Sometimes they tell me to cover my hair,” she explains. “Nobody cares about the face. So now I wear this.” She lifts her headscarf to show a gray hijab cap underneath, smiling as she turns back to the frying pan.

"有时他们会要求我遮住头发，"她解释道，"但没人在意是否露脸。所以我现在会戴这个。"她掀起头巾展示内层的灰色穆斯林软帽，随后微笑着转身继续照看煎锅。

Working within the system – and making it work

在体制内求生存——并让它为己所用

Street vendors like Nargees and Humaira are part of a quiet shift happening across Afghanistan. Since 2021, women have been finding new ways to work within the country’s changing rules – not in protest, but in adaptation.

像娜尔吉斯和胡迈拉这样的街头小贩，正悄然成为阿富汗社会变革的一部分。自 2021 年以来，女性们在这个国家不断变化的规则中寻找新的工作方式——并非抗议，而是适应。

And, no matter how unbelievable it may sound to a Western audience, the government actually supports these initiatives. The Afghanistan Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI), established in 2017, is still active and expanding – with local branches now operating in 20 out of 34 provinces.

尽管对西方听众来说可能难以置信，但政府实际上支持这些举措。成立于 2017 年的阿富汗妇女工商会（AWCCI）仍在积极运作并扩展业务——目前已在 34 个省份中的 20 个设立了地方分会。

The chamber issues licenses, provides training both in person and online, organizes exhibitions, and supports regional markets. Salma Yousufzai, the CEO of AWCCI, said the total number of female entrepreneurs exceeded 100,000 in 2023. Not all of them have licenses, but small businesses like Nargees’s food cart don’t require any paperwork.

该商会负责发放营业执照，提供线上线下培训，组织展销活动，并支持区域市场发展。AWCCI 首席执行官萨尔玛·优素福扎伊透露，2023 年阿富汗女性企业家总数已突破 10 万。虽然并非所有人都持有正式执照，但像娜尔吉斯餐车这样的小本生意并不需要繁琐的手续。

One of the best-known examples of a female-owned enterprise is ‘Banowan-e Afghan’ (“Afghan Ladies” in Dari), a restaurant launched in 2023 by businesswoman and mother of three, Samira Mohammadi. The place served traditional Afghan food and catered only to women, while male customers – including some Talibs – could order takeout.

最知名的女性创业案例之一是 2023 年由商人、三个孩子的母亲萨米拉·穆罕默迪创办的"阿富汗女士"餐厅（达里语称 Banowan-e Afghan）。这家餐厅专营阿富汗传统美食，仅对女性顾客开放，男性顾客（包括一些塔利班成员）只能选择外卖服务。

Mohammadi tried to provide jobs for women from vulnerable backgrounds; as she mentioned in an interview, even beggars would come in from the street asking for work, drawn by the daily pay of 100 afghanis. Banowan-e Afghan thrived and soon opened a second branch. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the owner thanked the Taliban government for its support and cooperation.

穆罕默迪致力于为弱势女性群体提供就业机会；她在采访中提到，由于日薪 100 阿富汗尼的报酬，甚至会有街头乞讨者主动前来求职。"阿富汗女士"餐厅经营红火，很快开设了第二家分店。在剪彩仪式上，这位女企业家公开感谢塔利班政府给予的支持与合作。

Work, risk, repeat  

工作、冒险、周而复始

Behind every business, there is a story of loss and acceptance.

每家企业背后都藏着一段关于失去与接纳的故事。

In a shopping mall in Dashte-Barchi – an area in western Kabul populated mostly by Hazaras – women-run shops take up an entire floor. They sell handmade ethnic dresses and jewelry, both in high demand during the wedding season.

在喀布尔西部以哈扎拉人为主的达什特-巴尔奇地区，一家购物中心的整个楼层都被女性经营的店铺占据。这些店铺销售手工制作的民族服饰和珠宝，在婚礼季时需求尤为旺盛。

None of the women behind the counters dreamed of doing this. Seema, now touching the intricate beadwork on a green velvet gown, used to work for an NGO in Bamyan. Sakeena studied civil engineering at Kabul Polytechnic University and later ran a semi-underground literacy course. Farah had an office job, but she always enjoyed sewing – a skill that turned out to be her lifeline.

站在柜台后的这些女性，谁都不曾梦想过以此为业。如今正抚摸着绿色天鹅绒礼服上精美珠绣的西玛，曾在巴米扬的非政府组织工作；萨基娜毕业于喀布尔理工大学土木工程系，后来经营半地下的扫盲课程；法拉的职业本是办公室文员，但她始终热爱缝纫——这项技能最终成了她的救命稻草。

Her small shop radiates cheerful energy: pink floral wallpaper, mannequins, shiny dresses made of synthetic silk – and the best income in this section of the mall (which seems to confirm Nargees’s theory about customers). Farah wears wine-colored lipstick. Her smiling assistants happily pose for a picture.

她的小店洋溢着欢快的氛围：粉色花卉壁纸、人体模特、合成丝绸制成的亮丽连衣裙——这是商场这片区域最可观的收入（似乎印证了娜吉丝对顾客的判断）。法拉涂抹着酒红色唇膏，她那些面带微笑的助手们正愉快地摆好姿势准备拍照。

All of them once lost their aspirations, their daily routines, and their peace of mind – and then rebuilt their lives from scratch.

她们都曾失去梦想、日常生活与内心平静，而后又白手起家重建人生。

Needa, the owner of a beauty parlor in central Kabul, has nearly lost her business more than once. While the majority of trades – from cooking to jewelry making – remain socially and culturally acceptable, the beauty industry is going through upheaval. A mural on the wall of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue roughly translates to: “If a Muslim woman understands her inner value, she doesn’t decorate herself.” Beauty salons are often visited by the religious police.

喀布尔市中心一家美容院老板妮达多次濒临破产。尽管从烹饪到珠宝制作等大多数行业仍被社会文化所接纳，美容业却正经历剧变。阿富汗劝善惩恶部墙上的壁画写着："若穆斯林女性明白内在价值，便无需装饰外表。"宗教警察经常突击检查美容院。

“The first time they came and warned us, we didn’t take it seriously,” recalls Needa, a lively 28-year-old with perfect winged eyeliner. “Then they put a lock on the gate, and I had to rent another salon. And once, we barely managed to escape through the back door. I just hope they won’t find us here.”

尼达回忆道："他们第一次来警告我们时，我们没当回事。"这位画着精致猫眼妆的 28 岁活泼女性继续说道："后来他们给大门上了锁，我只好另租了一家美容院。还有一次，我们差点没能从后门逃走。我只希望他们不会找到这里来。"

The place isn’t easy to find – Afghan addresses rarely are. The salon’s Instagram page simply says, “Behind the school, first street to the left.” But if a foreigner like me can figure out how to get there, so can the religious police. Needa shrugs.

这地方并不好找——阿富汗的地址向来如此。美容院的 Instagram 页面只简单标注着"学校后方，左侧第一条街"。但既然像我这样的外国人都能找到，宗教警察自然也能。妮达对此只是耸了耸肩。

“The rent is 50,000 afghanis a month – around $760. I can afford it now, thank God, but if I hide the location, I’ll lose customers. So I have to take the risk.”

"月租金是 5 万阿富汗尼——约合 760 美元。感谢真主，目前我还负担得起，但若隐藏位置就会失去客源。所以必须冒险。"

Modern tools, traditional roots

现代工具，传统根基

“I’m hoping to become a successful businesswoman one day,” says 20-year-old Diana Ekhlasi.

"希望有朝一日能成为成功的女商人，"20 岁的戴安娜·埃克拉希说道。

She looks like a girl from a medi Persian miniature – fair skin, almond-shaped eyes, perfectly arched brows. We met over cappuccino and cheesecake to talk about her project.

她恍若波斯细密画中走出的少女——肌肤如雪，杏眼微扬，眉如远山。我们一边品着卡布奇诺与芝士蛋糕，一边畅聊她的创业项目。

When Afghanistan became the Islamic Emirate, Diana was in the tenth grade. She could no longer attend school, so she focused on reading books in English (‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini is her favorite), drawing (she loves Vincent van Gogh), and developing her Instagram account. Later, she started using it to sell her handmade items – tote bags and headscarves.

当阿富汗成为伊斯兰酋长国时，黛安娜正读十年级。她无法继续上学，于是专注阅读英文书籍（最爱卡勒德·胡赛尼的《追风筝的人》）、绘画（她崇拜文森特·梵高）以及经营 Instagram 账号。后来她开始用这个账号销售自制手提袋和头巾等手工艺品。

“I saw so many beautiful things on Pinterest but couldn’t find anything like that here, so I decided to make something myself. My mother taught me embroidery,” recalls Diana. “That’s how I started my own brand.”

"我在 Pinterest 上看到许多精美物件，但本地找不到同类产品，于是决定自己制作。刺绣是母亲教我的，"黛安娜回忆道，"就这样创立了自己的品牌。"

She draws inspiration from Afghanistan’s rich cultural and historical heritage – Rumi’s poetry, the Buddhas of Bamyan, and the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque, one of Kabul’s most iconic landmarks. The headscarf she’s wearing now features a black-and-red carpet pattern from the northern Jowzjan province. Sometimes Afghan motifs meet Western art and create new stories – one design shows a Sufi dancer spinning beneath van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’.

她从阿富汗丰富的文化遗产中汲取灵感——鲁米的诗歌、巴米扬大佛，以及喀布尔最具标志性的地标之一沙杜沙姆希拉清真寺。此刻她佩戴的头巾采用了北方朱兹詹省独特的红黑地毯纹样。有时阿富汗传统图案会与西方艺术碰撞出全新故事——某款设计呈现的正是旋转的苏菲舞者在梵高《星月夜》下翩然起舞的画面。

Diana tests every new idea with her Instagram followers. Whenever a design comes to mind, she makes a sample and posts a photo. Their feedback tells her whether to produce more. Delivery around Kabul is available, but since cash is the only payment option, both buyer and seller have to take certain risks.

戴安娜会在 Instagram 上测试每个新创意。每当脑海浮现设计构思，她就制作样品并发布照片。粉丝的反馈决定是否批量生产。虽然喀布尔市区支持配送，但由于仅接受现金支付，买卖双方都需承担一定风险。

“Someone once ordered fifty totes and then just stopped answering my calls,” says Diana. “It was frustrating.”

"有位顾客订了五十个手提袋后突然拒接电话，"戴安娜回忆道，"那次经历令人沮丧。"

Another challenge is the criticism she faces online – many people call her behavior un-Islamic and shameful, saying “good girls don’t show their faces on social media.” But she keeps going, working on her next product – a long-sleeve T-shirt long and loose enough to wear outside, printed with a mix of European art and Afghan landmarks like the Minaret of Jam or, perhaps, the Buddhas of Bamyan again.

另一个挑战是她在网上遭受的批评——许多人指责她的行为不符合伊斯兰教义且不知羞耻，声称"好女孩不会在社交媒体上露脸"。但她依然坚持前行，正在研发她的下一款产品——一件足够长且宽松的长袖 T 恤，既适合外穿，又融合了欧洲艺术与阿富汗地标如贾姆宣礼塔的图案，或许还会再次采用巴米扬大佛的设计。

“Many people blame hard times,” Diana says. “But instead of waiting for opportunities, we can create them.”

"许多人都把困境归咎于时局，"黛安娜说，"但与其等待机遇，我们更应该主动创造机遇。"

By Alexandra Kovalskaya, orientalist scholar and freelance journalist based in Kabul

作者：亚历山德拉·科瓦尔斯卡娅，东方学学者，驻喀布尔自由记者