Afghanistan dispatch: salaries of women professors and government employees reduced to discourage them from working Dispatches
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Afghanistan dispatch: salaries of women professors and government employees reduced to discourage them from working

This dispatch was filed by a JURIST legal correspondent in Afghanistan. For privacy and security reasons we cannot disclose her name.

Reflecting the systematic misogyny now going on in Afghanistan, a government decree was recently published aimed at reducing the salaries of women professors and other government employees to 5000 AFG, or ~70$, without considering their expert knowledge and abilities. In Kabul, protests against the decree reportedly took place in many schools, but as always these days, they were suppressed by the Taliban.

The aim of the new decree is to put more pressure on educated women to make them leave their jobs and stay at home. It’s not fair to work with 70 dollars per month – this is such a ridiculous amount of money in the current economic chaos in Afghanistan. The worst part of this dictatorship and pressure is that even this 5000 AFG / 70$ is not actually paid to professors and employees.

Everything in this country happens to restrict the activity and appearance of women in society. It is such an unpleasant feeling to be in this situation as an ambitious girl. The authorities only look at women as tools for their own well-being.

It is interesting that all these events took place in advance of the recent Doha meeting. This shows the shameless threat of the Taliban in front of the international community and women’s rights. They are insisting rudely on their positions that the subject of Afghan women is their internal issue and the international community doesn’t have the right to dictate to them.

If they issue another order declaring that women are not allowed to breathe, it won’t come as a surprise.

Opinions expressed in JURIST Dispatches are solely those of our correspondents in the field and do not necessarily reflect the views of JURIST's editors, staff, donors or the University of Pittsburgh.
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