KABUL (Khaama Press): People’s tables in Afghanistan are almost always decorated with containers of jam and pickles. There is a high demand for these two foods. Najia Sultani, a 43-year-old woman, has established a workshop for producing these two foods with an initial cost of 500 Afghanis, and now about 50 women are working in this workshop.
Najia, who is about 43 years old, says it has been about four years since the establishment of this production workshop. She is pleased with this initiative because, as she says, she has set up this workshop using her children’s “lunch money.”
She told Khaama Press, “I didn’t know how to support my husband financially because his income was low, and he couldn’t cover expenses alone. I opened my children’s lunch money, took five hundred Afghanis from it, and bought materials to prepare pickles.”
While Najia learned pickle making from her mother-in-law, she sells the prepared pickles in plastic bottles for five Afghanis each. Eventually, she earns more money and expands her business using the money she earns.
Najia Sultani, who was forced to marry at the age of 15, says that this marriage was a definite obstacle to her education. In addition to home education for pickle making, she has also participated in formal education at various times to prepare pickles. Now, she uses all her skills to produce jam and pickles.
Although she had no choice in marriage, she is happy with her husband’s support in the field of work she does today. She says, “No woman can work without her husband’s support. I am currently benefiting from my husband’s support in my work.”
Najia’s eldest son, about 20 years old, accompanies his mother in the marketing section and works shoulder to shoulder with Najia to expand and prosper the jam and pickle Production Company.
Najia’s production company operates under the name “Sumbul Production Company.” She says she named this jam production company after her daughter and only women work in this company. This production company is a source of income for dozens of widowed and single mothers.
Many women work at the Sumbul Production Company. Many of these women have come to this company for learning and apprenticeship and are making jams and pickles.
Women who are apprentices at this production company have started various small businesses using Najia’s training and make jams and pickles half a day from their homes. They see the establishment of this production company as a good opportunity.
According to Najia, the Sumbul Production Company prepares various pickles and jams.
Najia Sultani, who started her work with 500 Afghanis and now has achieved a satisfactory income, says that every woman can start a small or large business using her abilities. She said, “While women have a lot of power, creativity, and ability, why not use it?”
