Afghan women employed in the public sector have seen their salaries significantly reduced, the finance ministry confirmed.
This development affects women who have been unable to attend their workplaces since the Taliban's takeover in 2021.
After ousting the previous foreign-backed government, the Taliban administration had prohibited most women working in government positions from going to their offices. Despite this, they continued to receive their full salaries. However, this policy has now changed.
"Women who are at home and do not go to the office will receive 5,000 Afghanis ($70) per month," Ahmad Wali Haqmal, the finance ministry spokesman, told AFP. In contrast, women who are allowed to work in segregated environments, such as government hospitals or schools, will continue to be paid according to their respective positions.
Before the Taliban's rise to power, women in the public sector earned up to 35,000 Afghanis, including university professors who have since been barred from campuses. Administrative positions within ministries, which previously offered salaries around 20,000 Afghanis, were reduced to approximately 15,000 Afghanis following the Taliban's takeover.
A 25-year-old woman, who requested anonymity due to security concerns, shared her plight. Employed in the Information and Culture department outside Kabul since early 2021, she revealed her salary had dropped from 10,000 Afghanis.
"Being forced to stay at home is already a significant 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 lamented.
The Taliban's strict policies towards women have drawn widespread international condemnation. Many women's rights activists argue that these actions are a blatant violation of basic human rights and exacerbate the economic and social challenges faced by Afghan women.
