KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have significantly slashed the salaries of women government workers who have been forced to stay at home since the Taliban controlled power, the finance ministry said on Monday.
Ahmad Wali Haqmal, spokesman for the finance ministry, stated that Afghan women who are unable to attend their offices due to Taliban directives will now receive a reduced salary of 5,000 Afghanis (approximately $70) per month. This decision affects a large number of women across various sectors of the public administration who were previously earning significantly higher salaries, up to 35,000 Afghanis, depending on their roles.
“Women who are at home and do not go to the office… their salaries are 5,000 Afghanis a month,” Haqmal told AFP.
The Taliban’s policy mandates that women can only work in segregated environments such as government hospitals or schools, where they will continue to receive compensation based on their positions.
The salary adjustments, effective from July, are expected to impact tens of thousands of women who are part of the public sector workforce in Afghanistan, where decades of conflict have severely impacted economic stability and livelihoods.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, a 25-year-old woman employed in the Information and Culture department outside Kabul expressed her distress over the salary reduction. She disclosed that her monthly income has dwindled from 10,000 Afghanis, which she used to support her family of seven, including her ailing mother. With the reduced salary, she fears she will struggle to meet basic living expenses.
“Making women stay at home is already a very big problem for us — we are in a very bad mental and psychological condition — and now that our salaries have decreased, this has only worsened,” she told AFP.
The Taliban’s strict interpretation of the law has led to severe restrictions on women’s freedoms, including restriction of education opportunities and bans on activities such as visiting public parks, gyms, and baths. These measures have drawn international condemnation, with the United Nations describing the situation as “gender apartheid.”
Afghanistan, once heavily reliant on international aid, has seen a significant reduction in financial support since the Taliban regained control in 2021. The humanitarian situation has worsened, with an estimated 29.2 million people, nearly 70 percent of the population, in need of urgent humanitarian assistance in 2023, according to UN Women.
