Feature: Afghan female tackles patriarchal customs to run spaghetti factory

An Afghan woman works at a spaghetti factory in Dihdadi district of Balkh province, Afghanistan, April 21, 2018. In militancy-plagued and patriarchal Afghanistan, women rarely dare to establish their own businesses and achieve economic self-sufficiency. Ruqia Hakimi, 41, however, has been brave enough to risk the misogynistic environment and established her own small spaghetti factory in Dihdadi district, 15 km west of Mazar-i-Sharif city, capital of northern Balkh province, to achieve her goal. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah)