KARACHI: Amid the clamor of a bustling street in the heart of Karachi, Shabana Agha expertly prepared snacks at a café that has become a sanctuary for refugee women like her.
The all-women kitchen cafe was initiated by an anonymous, local non-profit to support Afghan refugee women. But now the chefs and workers there live in daily fear about their own future as well as the cafe’s, as authorities round up illegal immigrants as part of an expulsion drive.
On Oct. 3, Pakistan announced undocumented migrants had until Nov. 1 to leave the country voluntarily or face deportation. Afghans have been worst-hit by the plan, as around 1.7 million Afghans, out of a total four million living in Pakistan, have no documents.
Tens of thousands Afghans have left Pakistan since Nov. 1 while scores of others, particularly women, have gone into hiding because they fear persecution under a Taliban administration in their homeland.
“We are a family of eight,” Agha, a chef at the cafe, told Arab News, saying she, like other workers at the cafe, is the sole breadwinner for her Afghan family living in Pakistan.
Arab News is withholding the name of the cafe as well as its location to protect the identities of the workers. All names of Afghan women have been changed.
“Due to the current situation, especially for undocumented individuals, we have been facing police harassment which has made it difficult for us to sleep and live in peace,” Agha added.
And more uncertainty faces Agha in Afghanistan, where women are forbidden from most jobs, cannot go to high school and university, and can travel only with a male escort.
Everyone is “very stressed,” Agha said when asked how she felt about the prospect of returning to Afghanistan.
Agha said she had been honing her culinary skills for three years, starting with making home-cooked meals before joining the café specializing in Afghan food. The establishment has two chefs other than Agha who serve up an array of delectable Afghan dishes such as Aushak, Momos, Afghani Pulao, Mantu, and Bolani.
“Afghan food is indeed excellent,” said customer Asifa Ahmedi who was visiting the cafe earlier this month.
“For those who haven’t tried it, they should try the taste. I have dined at various places in Pakistan, but I have never encountered such tasty food anywhere else. This is delicious.”
Naseema Qasim, a registered refugee who assists Agha, said she was relieved to be exempt from the threat of deportation as she had valid documents to stay in Pakistan, but expressed concerns about the wider implications of the crackdown, as many documented Afghans have also complained of harassment and arrests. She was also anxious that the café might need to close down, hitting the livelihoods of the dedicated chefs.
“We work diligently to support our families, including our children’s education,” she said. “They are expelling everyone to Afghanistan. We are unsure of what to do in such a situation.”
For Agha, who faces the threat of deportation, the danger of fading from public life in Afghanistan is all too real.
“If we return to Afghanistan, I am afraid that I will not be able to pursue this profession,” she said. “My children will face difficulties in securing education due to the situation in Afghanistan … If I go back, I don’t know what will happen [to us].”
