Women's Rights in Afghanistan - Politics and Workforce

Politics and Workforce

Further information: Ministry of Women's Affairs (Afghanistan)

The most popular traditional work for women in Afghanistan is tailoring, and a large percentage of the population are professional tailors working from home. Since 2002 women have gradually begun to work their way back towards being contributors to the economy. Some women became entrepreneurs by starting own businesses. For example, Meena Rahmani became the first woman in Afghanistan to open a bowling center in Kabul. Many others are employed by companies and small businesses.

In the last decade a large number of women became members of the National Assembly of Afghanistan (Afghan Parliament), such as Shukria Barakzai, Fauzia Gailani, Nilofar Ibrahimi, Fauzia Koofi, Malalai Joya, and many others. Several women also took positions as ministers, including Suhaila Seddiqi, Sima Samar, Husn Banu Ghazanfar, and Soraya Dalil. Habiba Sarabi, who belongs to the minority Hazara group, became the first female governor in Afghanistan. She also served as Minister of Women's Affairs. Azra Jafari is a female mayor in Nili, the capital of Daykundi Province.

The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), which includes the Afghan National Police, have a number female officers. One of the Afghan National Army Brigadier generals is Khatol Mohammadzai. In 2012, Lt. Nilofar Rahmani became the first female pilot in the Afghan Air Force pilot training program to fly solo. The number of female military and police officers are growing as more are being trained to perform their duty on an international level. Many believe that this will open doors for other institutions to hire women in the future.

Because Afghanistan has a struggling economy overwhelmed with massive unemployment and poverty, women often cannot find work where they receive sufficient pay. One area of the economy where women do play a significant role is in agriculture. Of the 80 percent of Afghans employed in the agriculture field or similar occupations, 30 percent of them are women. In some areas in Afghanistan, women may spend as much time working on the land as men do, but still often earn three times less than men in wages.

In terms of percentage women also rank high in the fields of medicine and media, and are slowly working their way into the field of justice. Because women are still highly encouraged to consult a female physician when they go to the hospital, nearly fifty percent of all Afghans in the medical profession are women. The number of women having professions in the media is also rising. Currently there are more than ten television stations that have all female anchors as well as female producers. As women are given more opportunities in education and the workforce, more of them are turning towards careers in medicine, media, and justice.

However, even the women that are given the opportunity to have careers have to struggle to balance their home life with their work life. Since the economy is so weak, very few women can afford servants so they are forced to take care of all the household work primarily on their own. Those who choose to work must labour twice as hard because they are essentially holding two jobs.