• Tweeter
  • republish

Yelda Qayumi, head of the Boost restaurant in Kabul and the Bandar cooking show on Ariana TV. RFI / Sonia Ghezali

Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women. In addition to the conflicts that the country is going through, they are often confronted with domestic violence. A widespread practice that is often not punishable by law. In Kabul, dozens of women have taken refuge in a secret shelter created by Mary Akrami, an Afghan human rights activist. It has launched a family restaurant in which the women it supports can work and rebuild safely.

With our correspondent in Kabul, Sonia Ghezali

"This is the cooking show I'm attending . It's on the Ariana TV channel. I'm the head there. I cook a new dish every day, "enthuses Yelda.

The young woman appears on the screen of her phone. She is watching a video of one of the shows she is attending. It's been a year since she was hired by the TV channel. She is also head of the Boost restaurant which only employs women who have fled their homes, victims of violence.

It was when her husband died that Yelda had to live with her in-laws. " They started not caring anymore, not respecting me anymore. They despised me, says the young woman. When my husband died I remained flirtatious. I took care of them, they thought I was going to leave my children and find another husband. So they chased me away . "

For several months, Yelda lives in a women's shelter and fights to recover her four children. " They had to wash their clothes, their belongings, they had to take care of their four-year-old brother. My oldest son was only 13 years old. Their uncles told them not to go to school. They had to do most of the housework . "

A judge will eventually decide in his favor. She recovers her children and leaves to live in Kabul, defying traditions by leaving her in-laws and living alone with her four children.