KABUL (SW) – Salam Watandar’s findings from interviews with 74 widows in 22 provinces show that 55% of these women lost their husbands as a result of war and insecurity, and 45% as a result of natural events and diseases.
Only 17% of women who lost their husbands as a result of war and insecurity received aid, and the percentage of women receiving aid who lost their husbands as a result of natural events or disease was also just around 20%. In total, 80% of these women have not received any aid and 20% of them have received partial aid from non-governmental organizations.
Despite the fact that nearly two years have passed since the caretaker government of the Islamic Emirate came into effect in the country, none of the women who talked to Salam Watandar have received any help from the government.
According to the findings of Salam Watandar, more than 50% of the interviewees do not have a supervisor and have turned to hard work and begging for a living.
Salam Watandar surveys in the provinces of Kabul, Badakhshan, Badghis, Ghor, Nimroz, Balkh, Kunar, Nuristan, Baghlan, Parwan, Ghazni, Kapisa, Laghman, Nangarhar, Sar-e-Pul, Takhar, Farah, Kunduz, Jawzjan, Bamyan, Daikundi and Panjshir.
The interviewees were selected based on random sampling and were between 25 and 50 years old.
Shahrazad Akbar, the head of the dissolved Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan, told Salam Watandar in this regard: “Of course, in a situation where Afghans unfortunately rely on international aid and humanitarian aid, and the ruling authorities have imposed restrictions on women’s work with charitable organizations, women’s access to aid It is less.”
This is despite the fact that there are no accurate statistics of the number of widows and orphans in the country.
The office of the Afghan Red Crescent Society says that the number of widows registered in this institution is 24,000, and the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs says that the number of widows registered in this ministry is 80,000.
Irfanullah Sharafzoi, the spokesperson of the Afghan Red Crescent Society office, said that they have provided cash assistance to 24,000 widows in one month, and the amount of money provided to each woman was 8,500 Afghani.
On the other hand, Samiullah Ebrahimi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, told Salam Watandar that they organize technical and professional programs for widows in the country so that widows can find work in the future.
According to him, 500 women are currently being trained in technical and vocational programs launched by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Mr. Ebrahimi added: “For the same number of women who are widows or orphans, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs organizes technical and professional programs for them. By passing those programs, the number of women who graduate from these centers will be provided with a job field.”
However, Faisal Khamush, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs, told Salam Watandar that 80,000 widows are registered in this ministry, and they and their children receive monthly cash assistance. He added that 5,000 afghanis are paid to orphaned widows, 2,000 Afghanis to widows with guardians, and 2,000 Afghanis to orphans.
Mr. Khamush emphasizes: “The same 80,000 women that I mentioned, these figures are all of the widows that have been registered with us so far. Maybe these numbers will increase due to the fact that some widows are not registered and in these figures there are widows of the previous regime. It doesn’t matter which one, they are all registered.”
It should be mentioned that after the change of the system, the aid to widows has decreased, while women’s work has been banned in most domestic and foreign institutions, and this issue has had a severe negative impact on the economic status of all women, especially widows.
ENDS
