This year, civil servants of the Taliban’s self-declared emirate face even greater job insecurity and poverty than in previous years. In recent months, there have been shocking reports about a series of staff reductions, salary cuts, and layoffs among government employees. These stories no longer provoke widespread reaction they received in the first months of Taliban rule but now get lost in the long list of hardships imposed on the people of Afghanistan. Yet, at the same time, their effects are widespread and deeply concerning.
Employees had widespread complaints about salary delays last winter. On the eve of the new solar year, Taliban officials announced that the two months of delayed salaries would be paid at the same time. Now, reports indicate that at least one month’s salary is still delayed, and in the best-case scenario, employees will not receive their wages until the end of the second month.
On April 28, before government employees even received their first paycheques of the year, news broke about a “general letter from the Taliban’s Ministry of Finance” regarding a salary reduction for all employees of Taliban-controlled institutions. According to a report by 8am Media, this letter outlined that the starting salary for a grade one employee is set at 21,700 afghani a month, while it is only 4,960 afghani (or US$85) for an eighth grade workerA large number of civil servants work in grades five through eight, with monthly salaries below 7,000 afghani, or less than US$100.
Even those meager salaries are impossible for those working outside the Taliban administration. Those who are dismissed or whose positions are cut cannot consistently earn enough in the oversaturated labour market of the private sector to afford a sack of flour, a container of oil, a few kilos of rice, or some beans. As a result, even the salary reduction of a few hundred or thousand government workers pushes them and their families into absolute hunger, while dismissals further increase their risk of death.
Some suffered from the severe psychological distress, including Abdulwahid, the water management manager in Shinwari district of Parwan, who had a stroke upon hearing news of his layoff. Abdulwahid, who was in the fifth salary grade (which now pays 7,800 afghani) had already worked 40 days without pay. He died on May 1.
As more and more news of staff reductions are reported in recent months, the the scale of the issue is becoming clearer.
The extent of layoffs
After the Taliban seized power in the middle of 2021, their commanders initially continued the administrative structure of the former Islamic Republic with only minor modifications, including the elimination of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. In their first annual budget conference in April 2022, the Taliban announced that 820,000 government employees were receiving salaries “through the national budget.” By that time, the Taliban — financially aided by the U.S. and international organizations—had successfully navigated the expected economic crisis and managed to stabilize the currency. In city municipalities, reconstruction projects were underway, and mining operations as well as some agricultural projects were launched with much publicity. The Taliban sought to present themselves as being in control of the country’s economic situation, trying to justify their cultural, religious, and political repression under the guise of “ensuring stability” and economic security.
According to the National Statistics and Information Authority of the former government of Afghanistan, there were 414,902 civil service employees a year before the Taliban takeover. The Taliban announced a figure of 820,000 government employees, including both civilian and military staff. Of the nearly 415,000 civil servants employed by the Republic, tens of thousands left the country after the Taliban came to power and were replaced by Taliban personnel. After that, thousands more were removed from administrative positions through purges, dismissals, and orders to stay home. Women were the first collective victims. As the Taliban imposed educational, recreational, and travel restrictions, women’s opportunities for employment in government offices and beyond became even narrower. Eventually, even women’s bakeries and public bathhouses were shut down.
A year before the Taliban takeover, 107,000 women worked in the civil service, according to official statistics. Of this number, 36 held doctoral degrees, 1,321 had master’s degrees, 22,461 held bachelor’s degrees, and 75,642 had completed at least 12 years of education, while a small group in service roles had little or no formal education. Most of these educated women were removed from civil service positions and forced to stay home.
On January 28, 2025, Pajhwok News Agency, citing a reliable source, reported that the number of women employees in Taliban-controlled institutions had dropped to 86,000, of whom 1,995 worked in the Ministry of Interior, while 6,354 had been ordered to remain at home.
These figures reveal that around 23,000 women had already lost their jobs in civil service roles even before recent layoffs, with around 7,000 also ordered to stay at home.
Now that a new wave of civil servant layoffs is occurring, it’s likely that the number of dismissals of women will increaseEven during the previous government, a large number of women served as teachers and university lecturers, but with the Talibanization of the educational system, non-Taliban teachers and professors have gradually been dismissed, forced to stay home, or compelled to flee.
In 2020, the Ministry of Education had 187,440 employees. The Taliban plan to eliminate 90,000 of these positions. A significant portion of these are administrative staff, but most of those who will be laid off are teachers.
Political consequences of the dismissals
The Taliban do not believe in the public’s right to access information and do not consider dismissed employees worthy of receiving prior notice or any official notification. In a recent report published by Zan Times, interviewees stated that they received news of their layoff or dismissal via text message or a phone call. For some, like Abdulwahid in Parwan, they find out days or months later that their names were on lists of those being dismissed. Nevertheless, overall details about the Taliban’s plans to reduce the number of civil and military staff have leaked to the media, including statements from the Taliban themselves that 20 percent of all government employees will be dismissed.
It appears that the same number of approximately 820,000 employees announced in the first “Emirate budget” were still listed as Taliban salary recipients, as of the end of last year. The positions of tens of thousands of non-Taliban employees who have been dismissed, forced to flee, or ordered to stay home in recent years had been filled by mullahs and Taliban fighters. Twenty percent of that number equals 164,000 people.
A portion of this group of 164,000 consists of fighters — the thousands of young men who were misled by Taliban propaganda in villages and cities and joined the “jihad,” as well as fighters connected to less influential and marginalized commanders. Now, many are now losing their jobs. Where will these thousands of disgruntled fighters go, and which terrorist groups will exploit them?
In addition, tens of thousands of those dismissed from civil positions will become more disillusioned with the Taliban than ever before. Due to unemployment and poverty, they and their children will be drawn toward anti-Taliban movements. During the 20 years of the Islamic Republic, the unemployed and those cast aside fuelled the war and contributed to deepening the crisis that would eventually envelop all of Afghanistan. The Taliban, Hizb ut-Tahrir, ISIS, and others lured tens of thousands of desperate families with the promise of salaries and spoils.
Yet again, hunger and frustration seem destined to reshape the political landscape. Which forces will benefit from the rising discontent of the hungry and the oppressed is not yet clear. Unfortunately, those who support education and freedom currently lack the organization needed to lead the people’s legitimate grievances. At the same time, the ongoing repression and dismissals may spark protests and diminish the Taliban’s aura of invincibilityin the eyes of the people.
Younus Negah is a researcher and writer from Afghanistan who is currently in exile in Turkey.
