Member-only story
The female attorney forced to sell bread to survive
Shahab Ariayi* authored this narrative for Zan Times, translated to English by Rustam Seerat
This narrative was recounted to Zan Times via WhatsApp:
My name is Sapeeda* and I am 26 years old, I was born near Faizabad, Badakhshan. I am the third child and the only one in my family who had the opportunity to go to university and work away from my family in the capital. My father never went to school, so he had no interest in securing a good education for me or my siblings — my older brother and sister are illiterate. My mother was my sole support throughout my difficult educational journey.
My life changed in 2012 when I was accepted into Kabul University’s faculty of law and political Science. When I shared the news with my father, he struck me with his shoe. During my four years at university, my father never sent me a single penny. Instead, my mother, a seamstress, covered all my expenses. I studied day and night to be ranked second in my class among 160 students, where seventy percent were men. Those years were the most golden period of my life, chronicled in the pages of my memories. In addition to theoretical learning, I volunteered in one of Kabul’s local courts, and after completing my studies, I chose my primary profession: a lawyer. From…
