Caught in penury, Nargis nurses ailing mom

KABUL (Pajhwok): Nargis, a young woman working at a private school, complains of poverty, saying she can barely make ends meet with her meager monthly salary of 4,000 afghanis.

At 27, Nargis remains unmarried, shouldering the responsibility for looking after her sick mother and supporting two younger sisters.

The combined weight of poverty, hardship and her mother’s illness has taken a toll on the woman’s physical and mental health — she feels as if she is 50 years old.

Nargis works as a cleaner at a private school in the Taimani neighbourhood of Kabul, earning a monthly salary of 4,000 afghanis.

She works Saturday through Thursday, from morning until 5 pm, cleaning classrooms, offices, hallways, bathrooms and the yard. She says: “I’ve cleaned so much and locked so many doors that even my nails are aching… What can I do? It’s out of necessity.”

Nargis lives in a two-room house in Chahar Qala-i-Wazirabad area, paying 2,000 afghanis in rent while carefully spending the rest to meet family expenses.

She adds: “If it weren’t for help from some neighbours and colleagues, we would often go without food for three meals a day.”

Unable to hold back her tears, she says: “My younger sister told me yesterday she trembles from hunger, and we have no choice but to endure it.”

She says if they find the opportunity, her sisters are willing to work. But they are not ready to work in people’s homes.

Nargis has three brothers, all married and living separately from their mother and sisters.

She rails against her oldest brother, who is well-off but cares two hoots for his sick mother, Her two other brothers are also living in poverty and hardship.

Nargis’ mother is suffers from a heart condition, and she is forced to buy her medication. “I ask my sisters and brothers for help so that we can treat our mother…

“I just want them to help our mother, because the three of us are stuck here, and we have no hope except Almighty Allah.”

She also pleads with wealthy individuals to assist her and her family during this blessed month of Ramadan.

Nargis is not the only person suffering from economic woes and seeking help. For over four decades of conflict in the country, many families have been enduring poverty, unemployment and hardships.

sa/mud