Uptight? Try Running a Print Shop in Kabul --Michelson

With only two hours of electricity per day in Kabul, her company relies on its three generators to keep its single press running. Once a week, Wafa (always accompanied by a male, as is mandated in Islamic society) rents a van or truck to make the 10-hour trek to Pakistan just to buy paper. All folding and collating work, even for print runs of 10,000 to 20,000, is done by hand due to the shop’s lack of any finishing equipment. As a result, larger jobs may take weeks to complete. Living in a society where female entrepreneurship and business acumen are largely frowned upon, stones have been thrown through her print shop’s windows and bombs have been left outside the front door. Unable to go anywhere alone, Wafa’s brother comes and drives her home if she works late. The business owner can’t take for granted she’ll even get home to her three children safely.