A canny village woman talks to NI.
She is a plump 28-year-old who, unlike other women in her village, wears her scarf tied around her head instead of flowing around and behind her. I first met Belqees about 10 years ago in a village near Balkh in Northern Afghanistan.
She was wearing a gold ‘set’ made up of a ring, a necklace and a pair of earrings. Belqees kept a keen eye on the price of gold and sold her set whenever the prices went up, making a small profit which she used to buy another bigger and better set.
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