04:16Afghanistan: 'Shocking the world' - Women-only restaurant offers lifeline for widows and orphans in Kabul
A women-only restaurant which opened in Kabul has been drawing dozens of customers every day, as seen in footage captured on Tuesday.
Wawa is the creation of Samira Mohammadi and only allows women to enter, including customers, management, kitchen staff and waiters.
Mohammadi says she decided to open the restaurant to empower other women who are suffering from financial hardship or lack of support from their families. Many of the staff at Wawa are orphans or widows with nowhere else to turn.
"I created this restaurant because a lot of people are jobless, depressed, bored and full of anxiety, especially women and girls, it was for this reason I opened this restaurant, to help women financially and mentally," Mohammadi said.
“Those women who work here are widows, have no support, girls who have lost fathers and they are the only breadwinners in their family,” she added.
Customers at Wawa are full of praise for Mohammadi and her restaurant, praising her courage for opening despite strict rules imposed by the Taliban government.
"When the Taliban government announced, they were not letting us enter restaurants, because, they said those restaurant’s employees and waiters were male, even the families would say, you could not enter restaurants,” one customer explained.
“This idea from Ms Mohammadi is shocking the world, especially Afghanistan, because a woman did this in a such challenging situation, and I support her struggles, I come to this restaurant often, it has delicious food," she added.
04:16A women-only restaurant which opened in Kabul has been drawing dozens of customers every day, as seen in footage captured on Tuesday.
Wawa is the creation of Samira Mohammadi and only allows women to enter, including customers, management, kitchen staff and waiters.
Mohammadi says she decided to open the restaurant to empower other women who are suffering from financial hardship or lack of support from their families. Many of the staff at Wawa are orphans or widows with nowhere else to turn.
"I created this restaurant because a lot of people are jobless, depressed, bored and full of anxiety, especially women and girls, it was for this reason I opened this restaurant, to help women financially and mentally," Mohammadi said.
“Those women who work here are widows, have no support, girls who have lost fathers and they are the only breadwinners in their family,” she added.
Customers at Wawa are full of praise for Mohammadi and her restaurant, praising her courage for opening despite strict rules imposed by the Taliban government.
"When the Taliban government announced, they were not letting us enter restaurants, because, they said those restaurant’s employees and waiters were male, even the families would say, you could not enter restaurants,” one customer explained.
“This idea from Ms Mohammadi is shocking the world, especially Afghanistan, because a woman did this in a such challenging situation, and I support her struggles, I come to this restaurant often, it has delicious food," she added.