Unemployment intensifies domestic violence against women
Bruises and marks still can be seen on Shazia’s arms, neck, hands, and legs. She points to a deep wound inflicted by her husband two weeks ago. “I was sweeping the yard when my husband, frustrated by my unemployment, grabbed a tree branch and beat me. He kept saying, ‘If you hadn’t lost your job, I wouldn’t be so miserable today,’” she says.
Over the past three years, the Taliban have systematically removed women from the workforce, leaving most previously employed women jobless. This has made women especially vulnerable and subjected them to increased violence, especially at the hands of husbands and family members.
For Shazia, her husband’s behaviour changed drastically after she lost her job as a vaccinator after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. “My husband has beaten me and my children several times. There are constant fights at home. When both of us were employed, there was no violence,” she explains to Zan Times. The first instance of violence occurred three months after she lost her job. Her husband demanded that she find work, but when her efforts yielded no results, the abuse began.
Now, Shazia owes four months rent on the house in which she lives with 12 family members: “The landlord came and demanded the rent, threatening to evict us if we couldn’t pay. I begged him, saying the Taliban won’t allow me to work, and my husband’s daily wages are barely enough for us to survive. He didn’t accept my excuses and told us to leave the house.” Shazia believes the only way to stop her husband’s domestic violence is steady employment. “If either my husband or I can find work, I’m confident our lives will return to the peace we once had,” she says.
For this report, Zan Times interviewed 21 women in Afghanistan. Nine said they had experienced physical violence from male family members after losing their jobs while eight more reported that the unemployed men in their families have been subjected to violence. At least three women disclosed that they experienced domestic violence after both they and their husbands lost their jobs.
Hadia, a 36-year-old mother of three children, lives with her in-laws while her husband, a construction worker, travels to other provinces for work. She is unemployed after working as an administrator at a private university in northern Afghanistan before the Taliban’s takeover. Hadia says the men in her husband’s family became abusive after she lost her job: “My father-in-law and brothers-in-law beat me, call me a burden, and tell me to find work.”
Unable to find work outside her home, Hadia spends her days doing heavy labuor and household chores for her in-laws. “My brothers-in-law have beaten me several times. One even tried to strangle me. I escaped to my room, but he broke the window with a knife. I feared he would kill me, but a neighbour intervened and stopped him,” she tells Zan Times. She endures the suffering to keep her children fed and housed.
In May 2024, Hadia and her husband borrowed money from a friend to migrate to Iran. After crossing the border without visas, they were apprehended by Iranian forces and deported back to Afghanistan. The failed migration attempt worsened her living situation with her in-laws: “Before we left for Iran, my father-in-law warned us not to return if we left. When we came back humiliated, things got worse. Now, I am tortured daily, and they mock my husband for being unemployed.”
Hadia says her 8-year-old son has developed a nervous disorder due to the ongoing domestic violence and frequently screams: “When we took him to a public hospital, the doctors said his condition is caused by severe fear.”
Zarghona, 35, was dismissed from her job as a cleaner in December 2021 because she didn’t have a mahram. She used to earn 13,000 afghani a month working at an NGO in Laghman Province, but now she makes only 800 afghani a month cleaning a house. This drastic drop in income has strained her relationship with her husband. Just three days before this interview, her husband physically assaulted her: “My husband came home and asked why I hadn’t made tea. I told him there was no tea, and we didn’t have firewood either. He yelled, ‘Why are you talking back?’ and began beating me. Two months ago, he pulled my hair so hard that his fist was full of my hair.”
Zarghona’s four daughters have also been targets of her husband’s violence: “Earlier this month, my husband became angry over food and kicked my eldest daughter, who is 12, so hard that she flew two metres away and fainted. I was terrified she might die.” Despite the abuse, Zarghona doesn’t want to file a complaint against her husband for fear that no support will be available. “I don’t know where to go to make my voice heard. Besides, if my relatives find out about the abuse, my life will become even harder,” she tells Zan Times.
While no precise statistics exist on violence against women in Afghanistan, a January 2024 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report highlights the significant impact of Taliban-imposed restrictions. The report states that women’s employment rates have dropped sharply, from 11 percent in 2022 to just 6 percent in 2024. The report further reveals that nearly 70 percent of Afghans cannot meet their basic needs for food, healthcare, employment, and daily essentials.
The UNDP report also underscores the dire circumstances of women: “Humanitarian and economic crises, along with restrictions on women’s rights, have had a profound impact on women. They now have limited access to public spaces, consume less food, and face greater financial inequality compared to men.” Since the report was published, people and experts interviewed by Zan Times report that conditions in Afghanistan have worsened as economic challenges have deepened, and women’s access to work and basic rights has become even more restricted.
Zarmena, a 30-year-old mother of four, once lived a happy life with her husband in Khost Province. As an illiterate woman, Zarmena relied on her husband, who had basic literacy skills and worked as a cook for an international NGO. Her husband earned 25,000 afghani per month, which covered all their family needs. However, four months after the Taliban takeover, he lost his job, and with that unemployment, the joy disappeared from their home.
Zarmena recalls her husband initially putting in great effort to find work but without success. To support her family, she began washing clothes in the homes of wealthy people. She continues that work today, earning around 1,000 afghani per month. And with her husband’s unemployment came violence and abuse.
One incident stands out vividly: Last year, Zarmena spent her last 200 afghani to buy meat for visiting paternal relatives. After the guests left, her husband demanded money. When he realized she had none left, he became furious and struck her on the head with a pressure cooker. “I didn’t even realize how he hit me,” she recounts. “My head throbbed in severe pain, my legs gave out, and I lost consciousness under his punches and kicks. When I woke up, I was in my room with a neighbour sitting beside me. She told me he had struck me with a pressure cooker, and I was soaked in blood.
Zarmena couldn’t afford to seek medical care and the head wound took months to heal: “No one even brought me a pill. I endured months of pain. My life has completely fallen apart. I constantly think about my situation and cry. I see no way out.”
Her husband occasionally hits their daughters, too: “Just a few days ago, he threw my daughter to the ground, but later he regretted it. He loves his children and says he doesn’t understand why he can’t control himself.”
Halima, also 30, lives in Kapisa Province. Her husband, a former police officer during the Republic era, stopped going to work out of fear of retaliation after the Taliban took power. Halima’s husband occasionally finds work as a day labourer, but such opportunities are rare and poorly paid.
To support her family, Halima now works as a cleaner: “From Saturday to Thursday, I clean a school and earn 3,000 afghani. This is not enough for our basic needs, so I clean people’s houses on Fridays for a small additional income.”
Her husband’s lack of a steady job has taken a toll on their relationship, and he has become abusive: “My husband is a good man, but because of unemployment, he beats me. His violence is a result of his own suffering. When he hits me, I don’t defend myself because I know he wasn’t like this when he had a job and money. I understand that he is struggling too, and I fear speaking up will make his condition worse.”
Names have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewees and writer. Freshta Ghani is Zan Times managing editor and Sana Atef is the pseudonym of a Zan Times journalists.
