Khadija: “An Explosion Took My Husband, and the Taliban Took Our Food”!

AFGHAN WOMEN

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, more than 100,000 Afghan women were fired from their jobs.

Many of these women were the sole breadwinners for their families, having lost their husbands and sons to the years of fighting and explosions that have ravaged the country.

Repeatedly, during countless interviews, the question I heard was always the same: “What should I eat? What should my children eat?”

Latifa, an Afghan woman who worked for several years at the Ministry of Education, was fired a month ago. “I went to sign in for the monthly attendance, but a Taliban member didn’t allow me to enter and told me I was fired. It was the worst day of my life. I was shocked and lost all hope,” she recalled.

As the sole provider for her family, Latifa now struggles to support her son while living in a rented house. She explained how the Taliban reduced her salary after taking control of Afghanistan: “Before the Taliban regime, I was earning $170 a month. After they took over, it was reduced to $70, and now I have nothing.”

“Khadija, another Afghan woman, lost her husband in an explosion four years ago. She was working at the Ministry of Higher Education but has now also been fired. “I don’t know how to support my children or how to feed them,” she lamented.”

Reports indicate that the number of Afghan women employed in government offices was 89,822 in 2017, 90,394 in 2018, 82,919 in 2019, and 90,087 in 2020. While the numbers increased in 2021, they plummeted completely after the Taliban takeover.

Mursal, a young Afghan woman who worked at the Ministry of Agriculture for over five years, also lost her job. “I was at home making the shopping list for the next month because there were only a few days left until I would receive my salary. Then, I received a call that I was fired,” she shared.

Mursal lost her father during the Mujahideen war in Afghanistan in 1994. After his death, her mother took on the responsibility of raising Mursal and her four sisters, despite their severe economic hardships. After finishing school, Mursal found a job at the Ministry of Agriculture and became the sole breadwinner for her family.

Now, she lives with her ailing mother in a rented house. “I don’t know what we will eat or how we will pay the rent. Who will support our family now?” she asked.

A few months ago, the Taliban announced that all female employees would receive 5,000 Afghani (around $70). But shortly after, around 70% of these women were fired from their jobs.

Khadija, another Afghan woman, lost her husband in an explosion four years ago. She was working at the Ministry of Higher Education but has now also been fired. “I don’t know how to support my children or how to feed them,” she lamented.

With four children, the youngest just eight years old, Khadija is desperate. “They need food, they need support, and they need an education. But I can’t do anything for them. The only option left seems to be to end my life with my four children.”

She pleads with international organizations to support Afghan women and to raise their voices to the world. “I don’t know why the world is silent. Don’t they see what we are facing? As women, we are not even allowed to live.”

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, women have been banned from working, going out, receiving an education, or engaging in any kind of public activity.

Tamana Bahar is a Journalist/ Photographer and she is in Germany.

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