An Afghan business leader who employs hundreds of women on her saffron fields has vowed to speak up for the rights of her workers, and “not remain silent” under the Taliban rule.
The hardliners have increasingly excluded women from public life since sweeping to power in mid-August, pushing many female entrepreneurs to flee the country or go into hiding.
We don't want to sit quietly and be ignored. Even if they ignore us, we will not remain silent
Shafiqeh Attai
Many fear a return to their brutally oppressive rule from 1996 to 2001 when women were effectively banned from going to school or work, and only allowed to leave the house with a male relative.
“We will raise our voice so that it reaches their ears,” said Shafiqeh Attai, who started her saffron company in the western city of Herat in 2007.
“No matter what happens we won't just sit at home, because we have worked very hard.”
Ms Attai's business, the Pashton Zarghon Saffron Women's Company, produces, processes, packages and exports the world's most expensive spice with an almost exclusively female workforce.
More than 1,000 women pick the brightly coloured crocuses across the company's 25 hectares of land in the Pashton Zarghon district of Herat Province, which borders Iran.
Another 55 hectares are independently owned and operate under the collective that Ms Attai set up for women saffron pickers, who are represented by union leaders.
Employing women, Ms Attai said, allowed them to be breadwinners for their families, and enabled them to send their children to school and to buy them clothing and other essentials.
“I worked hard to establish my business,” the 40-year-old said. “We don't want to sit quietly and be ignored. Even if they ignore us, we will not remain silent.”
The ousted western-backed government encouraged farmers to grow the spice – used in dishes from biryani to paella – in a bid to wean them away from Afghanistan's huge and problematic poppy industry.
No end for heroin crisis
Still, the country remains by far the world's biggest producer of opium and heroin, supplying between 80 and 90 per cent of global output.
During their previous stint in power, the Taliban – who used the sale of opium to fund their insurgency – destroyed much of the crop ostensibly to eradicate it, though critics said it was to drive up the value of their huge stocks.
The cultivation of poppies has again surged in recent years, as poverty and instability increased. Afghanistan's area of poppy cultivation is now about four times larger than in 2002, according to the United Nations.
Herat Province produces the vast majority of Afghanistan's saffron.
At more than $5,000 per kilogram, saffron is the world's most expensive spice, and Attai's company produces between 200 and 500 kilos each year.
The pistil of the flower has for centuries been used around the world in cooking, perfumes, medicines, tea and even as an aphrodisiac – and because of its high price has been dubbed “red gold” by those who rely on its cultivation.
Best grown in the baking hot sun, the bright purple saffron flowers are harvested in October and November by armies of workers, many of them women in their fifties and sixties, who start picking at dawn before the plants start wilting in the heat.
Labourers then prise apart the delicate lilac leaves, vivid red stigmas and pale yellow stamens – painstaking work that demands concentration and skill.
Ms Attai is concerned not just about the future of her business, but also for women across Afghanistan who are living in limbo, uncertain about jobs, education and representation in government.
“Now that the government of the Islamic Emirate is here we are very worried that they will block our work,” she said.
“They haven't given girls the permission to go back to school and university, and they haven't given any women posts in the government – I am worried about what will happen."
Some of Ms Attai's employees are the sole breadwinners in their families
“I'm not just thinking about myself, I'm thinking about all those that this business supports to run their homes,” she said.
“I am worried that 20 years of hard work by these women will go to waste.”
Women fear for businesses
In the 20 years between the US-led expulsion of the Taliban in 2001 and the insurgent group's return, many women became business leaders, particularly in cities such as Herat.
Long a key commercial hub near Iran and Turkmenistan's borders, the city has in recent months suffered from the flight of many businesswomen.
Younes Qazizadeh, head of the city's chamber of commerce, told AFP that he hoped the Taliban would make an official announcement to indicate that “women could come back and do business under this government as well".
For now, the fate of businesses, including that of Ms Attai's. hangs on a thread.
“It is our hope to start women's businesses again in our country,” Mr Qazizadeh said.
Ms Attai said that for now, she was staying in her homeland because she had “some hope” that her business could survive.
Before the US pull-out, about 124,000 people were flown out of Kabul.
“I could have left as well. But I didn't leave because all the hard work and effort that we put in should not be ignored,” Ms Attai said.
“I don't think they [Taliban] will block our work.
“We are a company which is completely run by women and employs women – not a single man is brave enough to stop that. A woman who has shovelled her fields day and night cannot be ignored.”
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SE%20(second%20generation)
%3Cp%3EDisplay%3A%2040mm%2C%20324%20x%20394%3B%2044mm%2C%20368%20x%20448%3B%20Retina%20LTPO%20OLED%2C%20up%20to%201000%20nits%3B%20Ion-X%20glass%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EProcessor%3A%20Apple%20S8%2C%20W3%20wireless%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECapacity%3A%2032GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMemory%3A%201GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPlatform%3A%20watchOS%209%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EHealth%20metrics%3A%202nd-gen%20heart%20rate%20sensor%2C%20workouts%2C%20fall%2Fcrash%20detection%3B%20emergency%20SOS%2C%20international%20emergency%20calling%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EConnectivity%3A%20GPS%2FGPS%20%2B%20cellular%3B%20Wi-Fi%2C%20LTE%2C%20Bluetooth%205.3%2C%20NFC%20(Apple%20Pay)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDurability%3A%20Water%20resistant%20up%20to%2050m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBattery%3A%20269mAh%20Li-ion%2C%20up%20to%2018h%2C%20wireless%20charging%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECards%3A%20eSIM%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EFinishes%3A%20Aluminium%3B%20midnight%2C%20silver%2C%20starlight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%20Watch%20SE%2C%20magnetic-to-USB-C%20charging%20cable%2C%20band%2Floop%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPrice%3A%20Starts%20at%20Dh999%20(40mm)%20%2F%201%2C119%20(44mm)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Cashew%0D%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202020%0D%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Ibtissam%20Ouassif%20and%20Ammar%20Afif%0D%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3EIndustry%3A%20FinTech%0D%3Cbr%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%2410m%0D%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Mashreq%2C%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Major honours
ARSENAL
BARCELONA
- La Liga - 2013
- Copa del Rey - 2012
- Fifa Club World Cup - 2011
CHELSEA
- Premier League - 2015, 2017
- FA Cup - 2018
- League Cup - 2015
SPAIN
- World Cup - 2010
- European Championship - 2008, 2012
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
