In the dusty passageways of the rugged Tatara mountains, embroidered cloth wrapped around mannequins hangs on small entrances to houses, as people continue to work in the increasingly precarious business of selling women’s clothing.
The Papoos market in Landikotal, which is located near the Pak-Afghan border, is fighting its own battle for modernity. The unexplained bombing of shops selling women’s clothes and cosmetics has not only affected the livelihoods of those involved in this industry, but has also kept customers at bay.
“We have never indulged in any immoral act,” said a shopkeeper, who like many others has opened his shop inside his house. “We invest all our income in this business,” he added.
Haji Rehmanullah Perokhel, who owns 12 such shops, said his family business had been running for the past 20 years.
His shop in Perokhel was bombed two weeks ago, destroying not only the stock, but his house as well. “Women came to the shop to buy clothes and jewellery for weddings and other functions,” Rehmanullah said.
He added that his family had invested Rs5 to Rs8 million in the business, which is the total sum of their assets. “Instead of conducting investigations they [the political administration] warned us to wind up whatever we had left, and even arrested one of our men,” said Rehmanullah. He added that his family had never received any verbal or written threats from any banned groups.
Abdullah, another shopkeeper who used to sell cosmetics and women’s jewellery in his shop in the Ashraf Khel area of Landikotal, said his shop was destroyed on August 18. He said unidentified assailants had planted a bomb in his house in the middle of the night, which had destroyed most of his house and the shop inside it. “More than 100 shops have been set-up in houses for women in this subdivision, which in turn becomes a source of income for those 100 families.”
Abdullah said businessmen are trying to keep tribal customs in mind by opening shops inside their houses. “Women come to our shops in complete pardah,” he said. Abdullah is afraid this business is now on the verge of destruction.
*Saba, a regular customer from the Khugakhel tribe, says that the home-based stores also offer medicines, particularly for pregnant women. “Where else will the women from the tribes go for?” she said. Like many other women, she has stopped visiting these shops after increasing security threats.
Another shopkeeper in Landikotal, Irfan Shinwari, said he was shot at but managed to escape. However, he wasn’t as lucky the second time when his shop was bombed, destroying most of his stock. “My lifelong earnings and savings finished when my shop was destroyed,” he said. Irfan added that many people in the area also work in the transport business because of which men are often out of the house for more than six months. Since the men are not home, women come to such shops, buy items on credit and pay back in instalments. “Our businesses are based on debts and instalments and we can’t just leave it like the government wants us to,” he said.
Anwar Hassan, who runs the same business in Shinwari, said while his house was not bombed, his business still halved since people are afraid to visit the shops. “But we have never received threats to close our businesses.”
*name changed to protect identity
Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2012.
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