Name: Zarifa
Province: Badakhshan
My name is Zarifa, and I am a 45-year-old widow from Badakhshan with three children. My husband passed away 18 years ago, leaving me with two daughters and a son to raise on my own. Since then, I have faced many challenges—uncertainty, loneliness, and constant worry about how to survive and secure a future for my children. Being a single mother was never easy, but I chose to live for my children, believing that God never forsakes those who trust in Him.
Because my children were too young to work, I started working to support them. My first job was at a blanket weaving center, where I received food and a small amount of money. A year later, I began working with an international organization focused on countering drug trafficking. I remained with that organization for nine years, earning a decent salary that allowed me to support my family and build a house on land I inherited. During this time, my children went to school, and I was proud to be a strong and devoted mother.
When that project ended, I joined another international organization, where I worked for an additional five years. In the third year of this job, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan. From that point on, job opportunities shrank, and we lived in constant fear of our organization being shut down. Despite growing insecurity, I continued to work hard to keep life going. Then, without warning, our organization was closed, leaving me and many others suddenly unemployed.
At that time, my eldest daughter was studying law at university, which was later shut down. My younger daughter was in seventh grade when the Taliban banned girls from attending school. Now both of them face a future filled with uncertainty. My son, who works as a teacher, hasn’t received his salary in months due to the restrictions imposed by the Taliban.
Now, I am unemployed, and our family has no source of income. For a while, international organizations provided food aid, but that too has stopped this year. With rising prices and the increasing value of the dollar, I am more anxious than I have ever been during these past 18 years of struggle and solitude.
I can only hope that one day the Taliban will leave our country so we can once again live in peace.
