{"id":29107,"date":"2026-03-23T05:10:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T05:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/?p=29107"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:32:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T10:32:42","slug":"women-keep-eid-traditions-alive-by-making-local-sweets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/2026\/03\/women-keep-eid-traditions-alive-by-making-local-sweets\/","title":{"rendered":"Women keep Eid traditions alive by making local sweets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>For many women in Afghanistan, Eid is not just a celebration; it is an opportunity for families to gather, strengthen their bonds, and keep alive traditions that have been rooted in the country\u2019s culture for generations. During this time, homes are filled with the colors and atmosphere of Eid, as women enthusiastically prepare Eid sofras\u2014Sofras that symbolize hospitality, love, and the preservation of long-standing traditions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>27 women in Bamyan, Daikundi, Balkh, Takhar, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Faryab, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Samangan, Kapisa, Parwan, and Jawzjan told Salam Watandar that, to decorate their Eid sofras, they prepare sweets such as cakes and cookies, <em>Gosh-e-feel<\/em>, <em>Roghan Joshi<\/em>, and <em>Qatlama<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>These women say that despite economic pressures, they strive to keep their homes joyful and preserve local customs by baking homemade sweets and arranging Eid sofras.<\/p>\n<p>Aziza, a 33-year-old resident of Balkh, says that she prepares different kinds of sweets for Eid and to host her guests. She adds, \u201cWe make homemade sweets ourselves. We bake <em>Parata<\/em>, cakes, and cookies, and we also buy almonds, chickpeas, and <em>Simiyan<\/em>, along with sweets and chocolate, from the market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-29116 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Eid1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Eid1.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Eid1-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Eid1-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Eid1-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Fariba, a 21-year-old resident of Jawzjan, says, \u201cWe prepare <em>Khajoor<\/em>, cakes, and cookies; on our Eid sofra, we place raisins, chickpeas, almonds, pistachios, chocolate, and <em>simiyan<\/em>. We buy some items from the city and prepare others at home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Gosh-e-feel<\/em> and salty cookies are among the most common Eid sweets in Takhar. Lida Mirzayi, a resident of Takhar province, says that she prepares her Eid sofra by baking these sweets at home, and she adds, \u201cWe definitely place dried fruits such as raisins, chickpeas, almonds, and pistachios, as well as fresh fruits, on the sofra. Homemade cookies play a very important role, and most people really like them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marwa, a 25-year-old resident of Kapisa, also says that their Eid sofras include homemade foods, dried fruits, and sweets. \u201cDuring Eid, the sweets we prepare are cakes and cookies, and our Eid sofra includes dried fruits, fresh fruits, cakes, and cookies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-29115 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Eidi-sofra-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1008\" height=\"756\" \/><\/p>\n<p>However, rising prices and economic challenges have made it difficult for some women to celebrate Eid as they did in the past.<\/p>\n<p>Zainab, a 23-year-old resident of Parwan, says that due to economic difficulties, she was unable to prepare as many sweets for this year\u2019s Eid al-Fitr. She says, \u201cThis year I personally spent less on Eid because the economy has become weaker compared to last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marwa Sadat, a resident of Nangarhar, says, \u201cIn the past, people visited their friends more often, but now some things have changed. Visits have decreased and prices have risen, which has affected celebrations somewhat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, a number of social experts and women\u2019s rights activists say that women play a very prominent role in preserving Eid traditions and customs, which is why many of these practices have still been maintained in society.<\/p>\n<p>Shoaib Ahmadi, a social expert, says, \u201cWomen have a more visible role in Eid preparations because they carry most household responsibilities. From cleaning the house to preparing various foods and arranging new clothes, preserving traditions within families largely rests on women\u2019s shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zakia Alizada, a women\u2019s rights activist, says, \u201cWe see women preparing for Eid; this preparation is itself a tradition, and women have a very strong and influential role in both the family and society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eid al-Fitr is one of the most important religious and cultural occasions in Afghanistan, celebrated each year with the preparation of sweets, dried fruits, wearing new clothes, and family visits\u2014a celebration in which women play a fundamental role in keeping its warmth and spirit alive.<\/p>\n<p><em>Reporter: Zarafshan Sharifi<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For many women in Afghanistan, Eid is not just a celebration; it is an opportunity for families to gather, strengthen their bonds, and keep alive traditions that have been rooted in the country\u2019s culture for generations. During this time, homes are filled with the colors and atmosphere of Eid, as women enthusiastically prepare Eid sofras\u2014Sofras that symbolize hospitality, love, and the preservation of long-standing traditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":29122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[990,9,16,980,24],"tags":[207,578,1674,1675],"class_list":["post-29107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-soceity","category-report","category-society-culture","category-women","tag-women","tag-eid","tag-eid-traditions","tag-local-sweets"],"views":36,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29107"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29117,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29107\/revisions\/29117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}