The world was created for us. We were created as human beings to live and to look after the world and each other. When we talk about human beings, we are not talking about gender. The words “human being” do not mean only men or women. It means all of mankind. Yet, in Afghanistan today, women are not allowed to work. Men are solely responsible for work, and women have to stay home.

When human beings were created, there was no discrimination about who should stay home or who should work. The world needs protection from poverty and all disasters not only from men, but also from women. With only one half of us working, the world is unbalanced.

Here is a question: if women in Afghanistan are not allowed to work, how can those children survive who lost their father in the war? Their mother is the only source of income to feed and shelter their children.

In 2009, according to the Central Statistics Organization, Afghan women’s participation in the workforce was growing faster than men’s. It was predicted that women’s contribution in the workforce would be more than 40% by 2020.

The economy dramatically declined after the Taliban took over in 2021. Afghanistan’s baseline poverty rate is now at 72 percent. So many families and children suffer from extreme poverty and do not even have bread to survive. The main reason is that women are not allowed to work. Most of the female staff who worked for the government, factories, companies and international organizations lost their jobs.

The economy of Afghanistan will never progress without the participation of women in the workforce. Afghanistan’s economy is losing the intellectual capacity of women. Women have motivation, they are strong, and they want to work.

I deeply wish that the Taliban understood the value and importance of women’s participation in the development of the Afghanistan economy. Please let mothers work and protect their children from starvation! I hope the Taliban understand from the bottom of their hearts the hardship of life for poor people and will support women to contribute to the work force and help the whole society.

Enough war, enough violence, enough fear. Please bring peace and respect for the lives of human beings!!! PLEASE

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/9/nearly-all-afghans-to-plunge-into-poverty-by-mid-2022-warns-un

Please help Shagufa raise funds to pursue her education and help end child marriage in developing countries. Donate here: ShagufaGoFundMe