By Fidel Rahmati
Female employees of four hospitals in Kabul, Afghanistan, have announced their strike due to reduced wages to 5,000 Afghanis (around U$70).According to reports, staff from the Sihat-e-Tafal, Stomatology, Sheikh Zayed, and Wazir Akbar Khan hospitals have participated in the strike.
Images released by the media on Saturday show dozens of women in medical uniforms gathering in front of these hospitals. Some of these women have criticized the Taliban’s decision to reduce the salaries of female employees as “unjust,” stating that 5,000 Afghanis is insufficient even for the most basic living expenses.
In mid-last month, a letter addressed to the Taliban administration surfaced in the media, revealing that Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, has set the salary for female government employees at 5,000 Afghanis.
The letter from the Taliban’s administration to its finance department stated, “All female employees of the previous government, whose salaries are now being paid, will receive 5,000 Afghanis in both budgetary and non-budgetary units, and all salaries will be equal.”
In recent weeks, the Taliban’s decision to reduce the salaries of female employees has drawn repeated criticism from women activists, who have labeled this action as part of the group’s ongoing efforts to marginalize women.
Earlier, Volker Turk, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, had also objected to this decision.
Amidst oppressive policies against women in Afghanistan, including severe restrictions on education and employment opportunities, the recent reduction of female doctors’ wages to 5,000 Afghanis has sparked significant outcry.
Female employees from hospitals such as Sihat-e-Tafal, Stomatology, Sheikh Zayed, and Wazir Akbar Khan in Kabul have initiated a strike in protest against this wage cut, highlighting the dire financial implications for their livelihoods.