Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, women have been widely deprived of their fundamental rights. The restrictions imposed by the Taliban have put women’s economic and social status in a critical situation. One of the most affected groups, whose rights have been violated and whose voices are unheard, is that of female heads of households, who are facing numerous challenges. The situation for these women has turned into a serious and silent humanitarian crisis. They are confronted with economic, social, and security challenges, and bear suffering that, according to them, is leading them toward ruin. Female heads of households, in addition to economic difficulties, also struggle with social and security challenges. They are deprived of the right to work and have no access to any source of income. Many of these women lost their husbands in the past 20 years due to the war with the Taliban and the group’s suicide attacks, and now they have no breadwinners and are desperate about how to prevent hunger. Some of the women who were previously retired and receiving pension benefits no longer have any source of income.
Female heads of households in Afghanistan are grappling with numerous economic, social, and security challenges. Women who are responsible for supporting the daily expenses of themselves and their families have seen their livelihood opportunities blocked due to the work restrictions imposed on them, and the social pressures have added to the crisis. These women, due to the Taliban’s prohibitions, cannot access any source of income and are unable to meet their financial needs.
Sarshar, a female head of a household who has chosen to remain anonymous for security reasons, says that she is the breadwinner for her five family members. She says that before the ban on women’s work, she worked at a local organization, but for the past month, she has been forced to stay at home. According to her, her husband lost his job after the Taliban’s takeover, and now she is the sole provider for her five family members.
Sarshar adds, “I was earning a meager income, which covered my family’s daily expenses. But the Taliban took that away from us and confined us to our homes. These days I am even in dire need of 10 Afghanis. May God bring us what is right and not what is wrong. If God forbid, something happens and a family member gets sick, due to poverty, unemployment, and hunger, I have no money for treatment.
Female heads of households say that one of their greatest concerns is providing one meal a day for their children. Thousands of women who are the sole providers for their families do not know how to meet their basic needs. They say that this problem becomes even more severe during the cold season, especially in remote areas.
Zarmina (pseudonym), a woman who lost her husband in the war with the Taliban, says that in addition to the grief of losing her husband, she is overwhelmed with the sorrow of being unable to provide a single meal for her children. This rural woman adds that, like her, many other women have lost their husbands in the war against the Taliban, and now they all live in difficult conditions. According to her, besides the sorrow of hunger, domestic violence and the hurtful words of society constantly cause them pain.
Female heads of households say that they have been seriously forgotten. They add that despite the heavy burden of providing for their families, they receive no legal or social support, and there is no institution to hear their voices. They say that they cannot defend their rights to protect their families or achieve social equality. According to them, with the Taliban’s ideological dominance in society, social support has been lost, and society’s view of them has become degrading.
Sharmila (pseudonym), a former employee of the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, says that she has lost her husband and is now the sole breadwinner for her family. She adds that she has six young children and has been facing numerous difficulties since the Taliban’s takeover. According to her, all of the family’s expenses are now on her shoulders, and she does not know how to pay rent or cover daily expenses. She says, “Since I lost my husband, I have been the head of the households. Previously, the salary I earned covered my living expenses and my children’s needs, but now I am at a loss as to how to survive. The burden of life is heavy on us.
This female head of a household urges aid organizations and international organizations to address the situation of female heads of households. She says that not only have the rights of these women been violated, but their voices have also been unheard and forgotten. She emphasizes that in this cold winter, “there are no stars in the sky and no mat on the ground,” and she is deeply concerned about the situation of her children.
These women say that urgent and effective actions by women’s rights organizations and the United Nations must be taken to support them. According to them, NGOs and the United Nations could help female heads of households by creating job opportunities so that these women can independently provide for their families.
While these women are complaining about their difficult situation and silenced voices, the Taliban have issued dozens of decrees over the past three years that restrict women’s basic freedoms, completely removing women from society.
Recently, countries such as Chile, France, Mexico, Spain, Costa Rica, and Luxembourg referred the violations of women’s rights by the Taliban to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. These countries have asked the ICC prosecutor to investigate the ongoing and systematic oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan by the Taliban. Previously, around 24 other countries had warned the Taliban that if they did not revise their repressive policies towards women in Afghanistan, they would officially pursue the matter in the International Criminal Court.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
صدای خفته و حق تلفشده؛ زنان سرپرست خانوادهها نباید فراموش شوند | روزنامه ۸صبح
