The cafe is called Barana, and is located in Kabul's trendy Shahr-i Nou district.
The cafe's three female founders work in the Afghan civil service, in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Development. They were inspired to open the cafe by their student days in India.
"Since our university days in Delhi, my friends and I are used to spending time drinking tea or coffee in a local café. That's when we got the idea to organize something like that here in our native land, so that visitors can arrange informal meetings in peace and quiet, or hold informal business meetings. In short, live an ordinary peaceful life," one of the café's founders Jahideh Sha’ban told Sputnik.
"We opened the cafe with our own personal funds, we didn't ask any institution or fund for help. The initial capital was more than $35,000."
Barana currently employs six male staff but the owners aim to hire some female waitresses in the near future. They also have ambitious plans to expand the café and add another floor.
Visitors to the cafe can choose from a menu of coffee, juice, fast food (pizza, sandwiches and burgers), pastries or ice cream.
"We are not trying to outdo anyone in terms of the menu. Our selling point is a unique mix of equal opportunities, peace and tranquility, which no other cafe in the Afghan capital can rival," Sha’ban said.
"It is pleasing that our visitors are happy with the service, we can see that from our guest book on Facebook. It's great that both men and women appreciate our idea to offer entry to both sexes. A lot of our visitors thank us for giving women the opportunity for progress, and personal and career development. Of course, we have some opponents" she added.
"But those days are over! We want women to feel like full members of society, to to earn money, and we are striving to encourage their aspirations," Sha’ban said.
