<
https://theconversation.com/afghanistan-single-women-and-widows-are-struggling-to-find-their-next-meal-under-taliban-restrictions-198279>
"Jamila*, a widow living in Herat, lost her husband in a suicide attack about
eight years ago. She has an 18-year-old daughter who is blind and a 20-year-old
son who lost both legs in a mine blast.
Jamila used to be a housemaid and bake bread for people in their homes. With
this income she was able to feed her daughter and son, according to research
carried out by Ahmad*, a former lecturer at the University of Herat and shared
with me.
Since the Taliban gained control of the country, Afghanistan has been on the
brink of universal hardship. As many as 97% of people are now estimated to be
living in poverty, up from 72% in 2018.
The recent Taliban ban on women working in international and national
organisations and women moving about public spaces has also affected women
being able to find employment.
Because of the current situation Jamila has lost her clients and is now
struggling to cope. She could not pay her rent and the landlord asked her to
leave her home. She now lives in a small room that a kind family gave her in
their yard. She has no source of income.
Previously about 10% of educated women in Afghanistan worked in national or
international organisations to support their children. If less educated, they
had a range of formal and informal jobs including working as housemaids, baking
bread, washing clothes, cleaning bathrooms and babysitting, and in rural
communities rearing small livestock and growing wheat, maize and vegetables.
Jamila said that previously under the former government her family received a
monthly salary from the state ministry of martyrs and disabled affairs, which
pays families of military veterans or those killed in the fighting, and that
gave them enough money for bread."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
