Breaking Barriers: Anwara Asmani Runs Three Beef Shops in Dhaka

As a woman working in the beef trade, she has faced negative remarks and criticism from people around her. Yet, she has refused to let social prejudice stand in her way. Wearing a burqa, she works alongside her husband to run three beef shops in Jatrabari, building an identity of her own through hard work, determination and business acumen.

Three shops, 10 employees and a demanding routine

The three shops are located in front of Threestar Vegetable Market, beside the Jatrabari fish wholesale market. Together, they sell six to seven cattle worth of beef a day and employ 10 workers.

Anwara has been involved in the business for nearly three years. She spends most of her day at the shops, overseeing transactions, dealing with customers, managing cash and maintaining accounts. She also supervises employees to ensure the business runs smoothly.

Her role extends far beyond assisting her husband. She has gradually taken on important operational responsibilities, becoming an integral part of the business.

Social prejudice remains a challenge

For Anwara, one of the biggest challenges is not the workload but the social attitudes she encounters. Some people question or criticise her for working in a business traditionally dominated by men.

Rather than allowing such remarks to discourage her, she continues to focus on her responsibilities. She believes that honesty, dedication and the ability to manage a business matter more than the gender-based expectations imposed by society.

Her daily presence at the shops, wearing a burqa and managing commercial transactions, reflects her determination to pursue her work without compromising her personal values.

From Khulna to Dhaka: A journey into business

Anwara grew up in Jabdipur, Khulna. Her father, Md Harun Sheikh, worked at the Sonali Jute Mill in Khulna. She completed the equivalent of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination at a madrasa.

In 2012, she married Maidul Islam, who is from Mehendiganj in Barishal, through an arranged marriage. She later moved to Dhaka with her husband to begin their family life. The couple now live in a rented home in Kutubkhali, Jatrabari.

Maidul had years of experience in the cattle trade before Anwara joined the business. As a child, he regularly accompanied his father to cattle markets, where he learned how to identify cattle, negotiate purchases and estimate an animal's weight and meat yield from its physical build.

His father, Abdul Hafez Sikder, worked in the cattle trade for nearly 60 years alongside farming.

Maidul moved to Dhaka in 2005 and began working under the launch owners' association at Sadarghat. In 2013, he entered the fish business in Jatrabari before eventually moving into the beef trade.

As Anwara became involved in her husband's business, she gradually learned its day-to-day operations and assumed greater responsibilities, including sales management, customer service, cash handling and employee supervision.

Two daughters, one shared dream

Despite her demanding work schedule, Anwara remains deeply committed to her daughters' education and future.

Her elder daughter, Mariam, is 12. Her younger daughter, Aysha Siddika, completed the memorisation of the Holy Quran at just eight years old and is now in Class Seven.

Anwara has devoted considerable time to her daughters' education, including taking her younger daughter to and from the madrasa. She now hopes to raise both girls to become educated, capable and self-reliant individuals.

Balancing business and family responsibilities is not easy, but she remains determined to give her daughters opportunities to build better futures.

Building an identity through hard work

For Anwara, the beef business is more than a source of income. It is also a way to establish her own identity, demonstrate her capabilities and strengthen her confidence.

Her journey involves managing a demanding business, responding to social criticism and fulfilling her responsibilities at home. Through it all, she continues to move forward with determination.

Her experience challenges conventional assumptions about the kinds of work women can or should pursue. By taking an active role in running three beef shops in a busy commercial area of Dhaka, Anwara demonstrates that women's contributions to business should be judged by their skills, commitment and performance—not by social expectations about gender.

Her story is a reminder that, even in the face of prejudice and adversity, determination and hard work can help women carve out their own place in the world of business.