Many citizens speak openly about the growing spread of unemployment and the Taliban’s failure to address it. They say the lack of job opportunities has made daily life harder than at any other time they can remember. According to them, anyone with a broker or personal ties to Taliban members can quickly secure a job of their choosing. They believe a broken hiring system, the absence of transparency, and the concentration of jobs in the hands of one group have crushed the hopes of countless young people who once dreamed of a better future.
In conversations with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, these citizens urge the Taliban to focus on tackling unemployment instead of repeating empty promises and encouraging migrants to return. They warn that without serious action, the social and economic damage caused by unemployment will grow even deeper. From their perspective, creating real job opportunities and paying attention to people’s basic livelihoods could help slow the spread of this crisis.
Saabir, a resident of Ghazni province, sits on colorful handwoven rugs and scrolls quietly through the “Akbar” job search website. Each visit sparks a small sense of hope, yet day after day, that hope fades without an answer. He says he has applied repeatedly to different institutions, only to be turned away every time.
Saabir says, “By God, people have become desperately poor. We have been unemployed for almost four years. Before the Taliban took power, I worked for a company, but when they arrived, the company collapsed. I check the Akbar website every day, ask friends and acquaintances, and we have sold many things from our home because of poverty, from the gas cylinder to blankets and whatever else we could.”
Hamid, a resident of Baghlan province who uses a pseudonym, says that after the Taliban returned to power in Kabul, a young person’s chance of finding work began to depend on ethnicity, education, place of residence, and above all, their relationship with the Taliban. He explains that residents of districts such as Khust, Farang, Guzargah-e Noor, the Andarabs, and Nahrin often struggle to find work because these areas are labeled as linked to the Resistance Front. As a result, many people feel forced to migrate to Iran.
He says, “The undeniable reality today is that if you belong to the Pashtun ethnicity or have strong lobbying power for that group, you can find work faster and more easily, not only in Baghlan but across the country. Other ethnic groups face far greater difficulties when they search for jobs.”
Sultan, a resident of Kabul, also speaks of the worsening unemployment crisis. He says patronage inside Taliban institutions has deepened hardship and exclusion for young people. According to him, favoritism and ethnic bias directly block many young people from accessing jobs and opportunities.
Sultan recalls, “I personally secured a department head position at a clinic in Kabul province. The Ministry of Public Health issued the position code in my name and told me to get the signature of the head of public health in Kabul. When I met him, he questioned me about my province and district, then asked which anti-Taliban fronts I knew. In the end, he clearly told me that because I am a Persian speaker, he could not give me the position.”
Complaints about unemployment are not new among young people. For years, this problem has shaped their lives and limited their choices. Many believe the Taliban have played a major role in increasing unemployment and say the promises they make quickly disappear in practice. In their view, the Taliban’s speeches at conferences sound more like slogans, similar to chants heard on street corners, and they have brought no real change to living conditions or job prospects.
Baryalai, a resident of Herat province who uses a pseudonym, says poverty and unemployment have fueled a rise in crimes that threaten security in the province. He says the Taliban directly contributed to this situation by cutting government positions and dismissing employees.
He explains, “They reduced positions for school custodians and dismissed many teachers. Young people who once earned a living with rickshaws lost their work because of restrictions and heavy fines. Authorities removed small stalls selling clothes and food across the city, limited women’s work in government offices, and placed pressure and restrictions on women in private workplaces. Together, all of this has created endless and widespread challenges for people.”
Amin, a resident of Jawzjan province, says unemployment has pushed many young people toward illegal migration to Iran and Turkey. He believes that if jobs existed inside the country, young people would never choose such dangerous paths.
Amin says, “Severe unemployment has forced most of our young people to migrate, even illegally and with great suffering, to other countries where they work for others. We should not allow ourselves to be exploited abroad. We must create job opportunities in our own country. I have personally seen young people die under brutal conditions at the borders of Iran and Turkey while searching for work.”
Nawroz Ali, a resident of Ghor province, says unemployment there has reached its highest level. He says, “The situation is truly alarming. People say that if you have a connection with a mujahid or a broker, you might find a job. If you do not, then even if you are extremely talented, no one will hire you. It makes no difference whether the job is in a government office or an organization. You might as well stay at home.”
At the same time, economic experts point to long-term causes of unemployment in Afghanistan, including decades of war, repeated droughts, and the lack of a stable government.
Qutbuddin Yaqubi, an economic affairs expert, says, “One of the main reasons for unemployment in Afghanistan is the war that has trapped the country for more than 45 years. Drought, unstable governments, forced migration from villages and small towns to other countries, and the shortage of jobs, along with widespread economic problems in rural and urban areas, have all contributed to this crisis.”
Earlier, the Taliban Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs announced that some foreign countries, especially Qatar, had agreed to help reduce unemployment by allowing the legal transfer of workers. Officials said that once a draft agreement was approved, many workers would find job opportunities there.
Five months after the announcement of the plan to send workers from Afghanistan to Qatar, the future of the project remains uncertain. The Taliban previously claimed that 6,800 job positions had been allocated, yet no clear results have emerged.
Despite strict conditions for these jobs, more than 40,000 people have registered to work in Qatar. This overwhelming response underscores the severity of unemployment and the pressing need for employment opportunities abroad.
Earlier, the World Bank reported that unemployment in the country had doubled and that one out of every four young people in Afghanistan was unemployed. The report noted that after the Taliban returned to power, families were forced by economic hardship to send more members into the workforce just to survive, even though demand for labor remained extremely limited.
Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban Supreme Leader, said in a speech marking Eid al-Fitr that poverty is part of divine destiny and that poor people should not complain about their situation. He claimed that God knew from the beginning that the poor would be patient and therefore created them poor. He urged the poor to accept their circumstances and not blame others for their economic struggles.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
واسطهسالاری و قومگرایی طالبان؛ بیکاری گسترده در سایه تبعیض و فساد
