i chose to cover my head because i believe fitting in keeps one secure and i have not encountered any problem so far i was the only woman amongst the 50odd participants at the kandahar action planning workshop initially she worked for the un and her job involved travelling from kandahar to bamiyan and herat and while travelling to the east and south one has to be extra careful people there are very conservative for they dont have the freedom of moving around and doing mundane things like shopping hopping on to a bus or watching a movie during winters i used to feel uncomfortable after sunset pushpa says her brothers were against her working in afghanistan but knowing her adventurous nature they gave in yet she dared to go back again after her un term ended this time to work for the kabul municipality sometimes but they keep alert and follow the security restrictions ever since the guns have died down in the picturesque kabul valley and the world is doing its bit to reconstruct the wartorn country piecebypiece thousands of foreigners have made the country their home once in 2004 when a bomb exploded so close to her guest house that it shattered the glass windows also i kept in touch with the indian embassy their social life is restricted to meeting guesthouse mates in the dining room and cooking during weekends besides food too could becomes an issue especially if you are a vegetarian bhawna is not alone like jyotsna rege who has been in kabul for eight months and works for ariana airlines but life is not easy for these bravehearts whats more bhawna agarwal loves the local mehman nawazi so much that she lives as a houseguest with an afghan family in kabul i came on the invitation of my friend she says it took me some time to establish trust and professional credibility and yes i picked up hobbies that i had given up or had no time for in india there are no readytoeat vegetarian food available either in the market or restaurants here so my friends brother came along and i would want to be here until i can keep getting work and make a small difference to peoples livessujatasachdevatimesgroupcom people couldnt even guess i was an indian she says most of them have made minor changes in their clothes to fit in besides seeing meat hanging all around the place makes me nervous even today says bhawna its exciting to be in a different environment where things can happen anytime they are ordinary women living extraordinary lives bhawna too has been working for two years as a freelance business consultant for livelihood promotion they respect us a lot she has picked up a smattering of dari and travels around the beautiful warravaged afghan countryside without a bodyguard interestingly many among these have attracted indian women who have given up their cushy life to work in the strifetorn country in the