Four years ago George W. Bush boasted of the liberation of the women of Afghanistan, but he may not have envisaged what that new freedom had in store for mother-of-three Zakia Khodum.
Zakia, 35, works as a prostitute. 'Now I am free to do my work. Under the Taleban, I would never have been able to do this. The only difference now is that I can work as a prostitute, so I guess I am free to do my work. I'm not happy with this job, but I have to do this because I have no choice,' she says quietly.
Dressed in a full-length blue burqa, only a glimpse of black leather high-heels can be seen. She appears no different to the scores of other women milling past the Haji Keftan Zadran market in Kot-e-Sangi, south Kabul, hurrying along, arms laden with shopping bags, haggling with stallholders over the price of raisins and vegetables.
Her finger nails are tinted with orange hues of faded henna, one of the increasing numbers of thousands of Afghan women and girls forced into the sex industry out of economic necessity.
'I never thought I would end up doing this. I will try my best to make sure that no one finds out about me. My hope is that I don't have to keep doing this... [but] it's the only way to continue to earn money. As long as I can continue to keep it a secret, I will keep on doing it.
'If I could get a good job, I would give this job up immediately but I can't. I'm illiterate. I can do this up to the age of 40. Then I don't know what [I will do],' she adds. Her voice is soft and her laughter rings out, echoing the jangle of the gold bangles which adorn her wrists.
