{"id":47385,"date":"2022-01-12T13:27:16","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T13:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=47385"},"modified":"2022-01-12T13:27:16","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T13:27:16","slug":"afghan-women-face-hardship-as-taliban-struggles-to-revive-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=47385","title":{"rendered":"Afghan women face hardship as Taliban struggles to revive economy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Kabul, Afghanistan<\/strong> \u2013 For Zaigul, a 32-year-old housewife from Nangarhar province who lives at the Nasaji camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near the capital, Kabul, life was already difficult before the Taliban seized power<\/a> on August 15 last year.<\/p>\n

She worked as a maid while her husband Nasir worked at construction sites to bring food to the table for their seven children, but not any more. Since the Taliban\u2019s return to power, the country has plunged into unprecedented economic crisis, with banks running out of cash and state employees suffering from months of unpaid salaries.<\/p>\n

The freezing of billions of dollars<\/a> of Afghan assets by the US and suspension of funds by international financial institutions have caused a near collapse of the fragile economic system marred by decades of war and occupation.<\/p>\n

Zaigul, like millions of other Afghans, has no work as most economic activities have run aground following the collapse of the West-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani and the chaotic withdrawal of the US forces in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most pressing issue is the financial difficulties,\u201d said Zaigul, as she sat on the floor of her one-room home, her children huddled around her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can live without freedom, but you can\u2019t live if you have nothing to eat,\u201d she told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

The United Nations on Tuesday said about 22 million people \u2013 more than half of Afghanistan\u2019s population \u2013 face acute hunger. It sought nearly $5bn in aid<\/a> for the country to avoid a humanitarian \u201ccatastrophe\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AfghanZaigul condemns the Taliban\u2019s growing constraints on women, but says the biggest challenge in today\u2019s Afghanistan is the economic crisis [Mohsin Khan Momand\/Al Jazeera]<\/figure>\n

Economy in freefall<\/h3>\n

Like many families in Afghanistan, Zaigul and Nasir\u2019s household income has been slashed over recent months.<\/p>\n

With most building projects coming to a halt after the Taliban takeover, and many families becoming unable to afford help at home, the couple has been unemployed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither of us can find work any more. We lack the most basic things \u2013 food, warm clothes and a heater to keep the house warm,\u201d said Zaigul, as she wrapped a thin black shawl around her shoulders.<\/p>\n

Two of her teenage daughters were crouched next to her, while the youngest, a toddler named Sana, sat playing with old rags in the back. Despite the cold, her feet were bare, and her clothes sparsely covered her small limbs.<\/p>\n

Zaigul\u2019s one-room home was empty except for a few worn-out mattresses that were splayed across a cold stone floor. In the daytime, the family used the mattresses to sit on, before converting them to beds for the night.<\/p>\n

In the corner, an emptying bag of flour sat next to a rusted stove which she used to make bread at night.<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tYou can live without freedom, but you can\u2019t live if you have nothing to eat.\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Zaigul, 32, Nasaji camp, Afghanistan<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Zaigul recounted life before the takeover, saying that despite being poor, her family got by on a meagre income and donations from international NGOs that helped them through the winter season.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now, even that [the aid] has stopped,\u201d she told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy children go out to collect rubbish which we try to sell, or paper to burn to keep us warm. Sometimes, I think about going on to the street to beg,\u201d she told Al Jazeera, as she dropped her head into her palms and tears formed at the corners of her eyes.<\/p>\n

Western sanctions have dealt a heavy blow to the aid-dependent country, forcing international NGOs to stop operations in the country.<\/p>\n

The UN and other aid agencies have since tried to navigate the sanctions to deliver much-needed aid<\/a> to the country, as public hospitals became unable to afford essential medical supplies or to pay staff salaries.<\/p>\n

\"EloomEloom Bibi, a mother of six, used to depend on aid and charity to get by after her husband died four years ago [Mohsin Khan Momand\/Al Jazeera]<\/figure>\n

Donations-dependent population<\/h3>\n

Like Zaigul, Eloom Bibi, a widowed mother of six from Shemol village on the outskirts of Jalalabad, also depended heavily on donations after her husband \u2013 who worked in the police \u2013 died four years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharity from people helped me a lot. But now, there\u2019s nothing [coming in] and I understand why. People are jobless,\u201d said the 35 year old.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are thousands of widows in this country who used to work. Now that the Taliban has taken over the country, all women have been made to stay home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can a woman do to support her family?\u201d she asked, as her youngest, three-year-old Baba-ji, climbed on to her lap.<\/p>\n

Bibi has been struggling to pay her rent, buy food for the children \u201cwho are too young to work\u201d, or afford their school fees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings were better before,\u201d she lamented as she hugged her three girls. \u201cMy kids were going to school \u2013 girls and boys. We used to receive donations, and women were free,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

According to independent Afghan analyst Ahmed-Waleed Kakar, \u201cthe main challenges for women are those reflected across the country at large \u2013 the financial and economic,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

For Afghan women, economic challenges engulfing the country have been compounded by further restrictions on their freedoms, employment, education and even movement.<\/p>\n

Kakar said most Afghans live in rural areas where people depend on agriculture rather than formal employment to make a living. But now, \u201cthey are struggling to get by and there\u2019s a massive surge in food insecurity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With the economic crisis and severe drought debilitating Afghanistan\u2019s agricultural, economic, financial and banking sectors, it has also affected the government\u2019s ability to pay the salaries of civil servants.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen who were in the public sector, alongside the men, are receiving salaries irregularly, if at all,\u201d said Kakar.<\/p>\n

Masuda Sultan, an Afghan women\u2019s rights activist agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers comprised the largest bulk of women\u2019s employment in Afghanistan,\u201d said Sultan, adding that they have not been paid their salaries since May or June, \u201cexcept for some small payments made by the Taliban.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it is good that the international community has agreed to pay them, the money has not yet been mobilised and this has left them in a very bad place,\u201d she told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

Sultan, who has worked on women\u2019s rights in Afghanistan for more than two decades, said that many businesswomen were also unable to access their funds at banks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest challenge [for women] is an economic one, with the assets and aid being frozen,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\"EloomLike most Afghans, Eloom Bibi lives in a rural area where people are struggling with increasing food insecurity across the country [Mohsin Zaman\/Al Jazeera]<\/figure>\n

Growing restrictions on women<\/h3>\n

Despite coming from a family that was financially stable before the takeover, things have also deteriorated for Anzorat Wali, a 19-year-old member of the Afghan national women\u2019s taekwondo team.<\/p>\n

While Wali\u2019s brother, a civil servant, continues to work at the foreign ministry, he has not been paid in months.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, her mother \u2013 who previously supported the family \u2013 lost her job at the Ministry of Education after the Taliban called on women in the public sector to stay home.<\/p>\n

For the teenager, life under the Taliban has meant no school, nor what she loved most \u2013 taekwondo.<\/p>\n

Taking out a photo of one of her recent competitions, the teenager recounted the days when she could practise martial arts along with her sister.<\/p>\n

In the picture, the young athlete\u2019s eyes beamed with pride as she stood in her white dobok and black belt to show off a hard-won medal and certificate for third place.<\/p>\n

Although she was frustrated over the ban on female sports, Wali feels more pained by the restrictions on women\u2019s education and her family\u2019s financial struggle.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the biggest challenge is that I can\u2019t work or study,\u201d said Wali, who despite being her final school year, has stayed home after the Taliban shut her school.<\/p>\n

\"AnzoratAnzorat Wali misses practising taekwondo with her sister since the Taliban takeover [Courtesy of Anzorat Wali\/Al Jazeera]<\/figure>\n

Mounting confusion<\/h3>\n

Although the Taliban has not officially banned girls\u2019 education, the group\u2019s fighters have shuttered girls\u2019 secondary schools and barred women from public universities in many of the country\u2019s 30 provinces.<\/p>\n

More recently, however, secondary-level education has returned to about 15 provinces, according to Obaidullah Baheer, a lecturer in transitional justice at the American University in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the rest [of the provinces], we heard different things,\u201d he said, explaining that the Taliban has delayed the reopening of many girls\u2019 schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Taliban \u2013 whether by accident or design \u2013 has had a very elusive and confusing approach with regards to their policies and position on women within society,\u201d said Baheer, explaining that even the group\u2019s leadership is divided on the topic.<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s very hard to survive, especially if you are a woman in Afghanistan.\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Anzorat Wali, 19, Afghan national women\u2019s taekwondo team member<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Baheer said that while the Taliban clearly banned women from holding positions of leadership, they have not announced other sectors where women are officially barred.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe result is that many of their fighters are confused about what should, or should not, be done,\u201d he added, explaining that the directives banning women\u2019s travel alone for long distances pushed taxi drivers to refuse to drive women to work for fear of breaking the rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some provinces, women have been discouraged by fighters on the roads from going to their jobs [and girls to schools] but in others, some women are still in government jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery province is making its own decision,\u201d he said, highlighting the depth of the confusion and arbitrary implementation.<\/p>\n

But for Wali, the details do not matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe [women] used to go to school or work. Now, we just aren\u2019t allowed,\u201d said the teenage athlete.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat matters now, is that my family is facing a crisis and that it\u2019s very hard to survive, especially if you are a woman,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\"AnzoratThe Taliban has had an elusive approach with regards to their policies on women within society leaving many, like Anzorat Wali, confused about what is allowed [Mohsin Khan Momand\/Al Jazeera]<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kabul, Afghanistan \u2013 For Zaigul, a 32-year-old housewife from Nangarhar province who lives at the Nasaji camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near the capital, Kabul, life was already difficult before the Taliban seized power on August 15 last year. She worked as a maid while her husband Nasir worked at construction sites to bring…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47385\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}