By Hamza Ameer

Islamabad, Jul 21 (IANS): In Pakistan, the business of livestock -- cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats and camels reaches its boom when the whole country is filled with cattle markets with sellers piling up sacrificial animals for sale before the Eid-ul-Azha.

Every year, these markets are abuzz with buyers and sellers, over 95 per cent of who are men.

However, this year, the highlight of Karachi's largest cattle market is not animals. It is a young woman, who is breaking and challenging gender stereotypes by standing among the men to tend and sell the sacrificial animals.

Karachi's cattle market at Super Highway is by far the most prominent cattle market in the country, filled with hundreds of thousands of animals and it attracts buyers round the clock.

Ayesha Ghani, the 21-year-old can be seen tending and selling the sacrificial animals at the cattle market ahead of this Eid-ul-Azha. It may not be a take out of the ordinary. However, Ghani being a woman, is certainly shattering stereotypes as this market has not seen a woman do such tasks in the past.

Ghani is a resident of Karachi and is seen standing in the market everyday, putting at least 36 of her cows, oxen and calves on sale, with a price ranging from PKR 130,000 to PKR 700,000.

"I have raised these animals at home on my own. That's why I have a special affection towards them", said Ayesha Ghani.

Ghani has also brought along a new trend of online buying as her animals are also up for sale online on social media sites titled "Desi Cows".

"Most buyers are looking for animals available at economical prices, while prices have sky-rocketed this year due to inflation," she said, adding that the business has slowed down this year amid coronavirus outbreak.

"I have been an animal lover all my life. However, this is the first time that I am personally selling animals in the market," she said.

Ghani hoped that women would get encouraged to see her and get more involved in this work. However, the challenges that she faces being a woman, standing in a male-dominated market are "bound to surface at first".

"After all, girls do face a lot of difficulties in our society but I have taken the first step and hope to see more women and girls stepping forward," Ghani said.

"Today, women are second to none and they should not consider themselves inferior to anyone. We can progress in every field," she added.