A number of citizens in an interview with “Voice of Afghan Women” said that the unemployment graph in the country, especially among the youth, has increased unprecedentedly, a problem that has affected millions of people, especially the youth.
Ahmad Shafiq, a 28-year-old resident of Sar-e-Pul province and a current resident of Kabul, said he graduated from Kabul University three years ago with a high grade, but has not been able to get a job after sending dozens of applications to Taliban offices.
He said that the Taliban regime’s administrations are following all the procedures of the group. In some offices, the criterion is a beard, in others, the history of jihad, and in others, the mediator is the first word.
According to Ahmad Shafiq, out of dozens of job applications (CVs) he sent to Taliban administrations, about five months ago, only the group’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock contacted him to participate in the competitive exam for vacant positions, and after passing the exam, his name and his friends were not even among the failures.
He accused Taliban administrations of “taking a mock exam” and said that the group considers the youth and educated people to be foreigners and spies.
Ahmad Shafiq said: “From my visits to Taliban offices during this period, I am sure that there is a lot of corruption and nepotism among the Taliban compared to the previous government. “The Taliban give space to their own faction and group before giving the youth a chance.”
The Voice of Women of Afghanistan also interviewed a former government employee in the Taliban administrations who was recently dismissed by the group, who also revealed the Taliban’s corruption and irresponsibility.
He said he did not want to be named, but said he worked in the Examinations Research Department. According to the former employee, the Taliban regime pressured former government employees to ask exam questions from Arabic books and in Pashto.
He emphasizes that the book that was approved as the source of the exam is not taught in any university in the country, except in Taliban schools. The Taliban systematically blocked the entry of educated students by holding symbolic exams and such tactics.
“I worked with the Taliban in this office for about three and a half years. “The ruling group, even their high-ranking officials, have no faith in the youth as the new human resources and do not feel any obligation to the people.”
Regarding the reduction of his position, he said: “There were more than 280 employees in our administration, a small number of whom remained from the previous government. When the letter of the reduction of positions came to our directorate, 12 people, including myself, were included in the reduction. The people who were demoted were all skilled and had years of experience.”
Saeed Khosti, a member of the Taliban regime and accused of sexual assault, recently said in an online interview that 80 percent of the employees of the departments from the previous government work with the group.
At the same time, the Voice of Women of Afghanistan has also conducted interviews with a number of other citizens, who describe the unemployment situation in the country as catastrophic. An old man known as “Uncle Ghulam” who has a hand in the Pul-e-Surkh area of Kabul in Karachi says that after the Taliban came, “work and bread” were taken from the people.
Mr. Gholam narrates the current situation as follows: “In the past, if it was not good, it was not bad. One hand was yes, the people’s table was not empty. 100 a day, 150 a day, sometimes more, sometimes less, and now it is not the same.”
With the same simplicity and accent of his own, he says: “God forbid that the seeker is lost. People are on their way. It’s expensive, it’s unemployment, people’s lives are getting worse day by day.”
The old man, who has taken it not to live a luxurious life, but to survive in the harsh cold of Karachi’s winter, is facing an acute livelihood problem, and his narrative reflects the situation of millions of other citizens in the country.
The increasing unemployment and the spread of the ominous shadow of poverty have also directly and indirectly affected the lives of women heads of households. Women who previously worked in offices, especially the Ministry of Education, have been relieved of their duties with the arrival of the Taliban regime.
This situation has not only increased the financial pressure on them, but has also caused them to suffer from deep depression psychologically by imposing breathtaking and continuous restrictions on women. According to international organizations, women and girls in Afghanistan are effectively confined to their homes.
These cases are only part of the current situation in the country. Previously, there were reports that some families had turned to selling their daughters due to extreme poverty and destitution.
In an interview with the Voice of Women of Afghanistan, the interviewees blamed the ruling regime for the current situation and emphasized that the group, despite being aware of the depth of the crisis, continues its incompetence and ignorance.
The Taliban have not only ignored the legitimate demands of citizens, but have also turned their backs on repeated warnings from foreign institutions and aid workers. Earlier, the World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan had put the number of needy people in Afghanistan at close to 22 million.
According to the organization, the World Food Programme is only able to work with 17 million people, and of these, nearly 5 million more continue to struggle with acute hunger.
This situation shows that some poor families are forced to auction off their daughters in order to provide bread for other members of their family to survive in the face of severe challenges in life.
Photo Credited: Internet
