KABUL (SW) – Although job opportunities for graduates in law and political science fields were never sufficient to match the annual number of graduates during the Republic era, these opportunities have significantly declined under the current de-facto government in Afghanistan as well.
This report explores the reasons behind the increasing unemployment among these graduates, featuring interviews with 21 individuals, including 10 girls and 11 boys, all of whom are currently unemployed.
Among these graduates, 14 attribute their unemployment to patronage, personal and ethnic connections, and bribery, while 7 others cite the lack of job opportunities and government support as the main factors.
Arefa Hamidi, 26, a graduate in criminal law from the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Kabul University, believes personal connections are the primary reason for her unemployment. She says, “Although I endured the hardships of student life to enter the legal system in Afghanistan, job opportunities in this field are only available to those with good financial resources or connections. If we don’t have either, we must forget about finding a job in the field we studied.”
Amin, 24, from Balkh and a graduate in law, also suffering from unemployment, links the lack of job opportunities for young people to the absence of connections and the inability to pay bribes. He adds, “When I graduated, I realized that without bribery, there are no job opportunities. Without money or connections, even a simple file won’t be given to you.”
Seven other interviewees in this report mention the lack of opportunities for skill development, absence of government support for youths, and existing restrictions as major reasons for their unemployment.
Farid Nawabi, 25, from Maidan Wardak, who holds a degree in international relations, sees the government’s indifference toward youths and the rise in bribery as the main obstacles to employment in diplomacy and legal sectors. “Bribery is widespread, and the government doesn’t care about youths; working in the diplomacy and legal sectors under such conditions is not easy,” he said.
Soraya Ahmadi, 23, a graduate in law and political science from Kabul University, identifies the lack of postgraduate training programs and practical seminars as another challenge. She believes that university education is mostly theoretical, and graduates need capacity-building programs to enter the legal workforce.
“If they really want young people to be active in this field, they must organize more seminars and training programs,” Soraya said.
Nazanin Sharifi, 25, from Kabul, a graduate in international relations, views social and educational restrictions placed on women as serious barriers to their professional participation. She says, “For us women, there’s no way forward. On one hand, they don’t allow us to study, and on the other hand, even if we do study, they don’t let us work. They won’t even give women administrative jobs, let alone diplomatic positions abroad.”
Meanwhile, experts in international relations point to the low quality of educational curricula as the primary reason for the unemployment of graduates. They argue that the lack of a recruitment system based on merit and specialization for government positions is a key factor in the rising unemployment among youths.
Habibullah Jafari, an international relations expert, identifies the unfair distribution of job opportunities as one of the main reasons for the unemployment of graduates in law and political science. “Job opportunities here are divided based on connections, not expertise. This is the main reason why our young generation remains unemployed and, unfortunately, ends up in other countries,” he says.
Sayed Shafiqullah Sadat, another international relations expert, believes that the government can take effective steps to reduce youth unemployment by adopting proper policies and creating fair job opportunities.
“Today, not only international relations but other fields are also limited. However, international relations are more affected. The government should allocate positions based on expertise and merit. One of the reasons for unemployment is that no one is hired for government positions based on their expertise and qualifications,” he explained.
Mohammad Rahimi, a legal expert, emphasizes the lack of job opportunities for graduates in law and international relations, calling for the hiring of qualified individuals in courts. “Job opportunities for law and international relations graduates have completely disappeared, while all the principles were taught at the Faculty of Law and Judicial Sciences, such as inheritance law, civil law, and international criminal law, based on international and Islamic standards. Only a select group, who may even be unqualified, are hired for positions,” he said.
Nevertheless, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, stresses the importance of recruiting law graduates into the government structure and claims that the de-facto government is working to provide suitable job opportunities for capable youths.
“Those who have studied law and are trained in various fields are needed in the system and society, and they are recruited in different departments when necessary. This way, the government utilizes the talents of capable people for the benefit of the people,” Mujahid says.
Every year, thousands of graduates in law and political science fields from both public and private universities in Afghanistan face unemployment due to the lack of job opportunities. Consequently, many of these young graduates are confronted with unemployment and an uncertain future after graduation.
