Taliban Restrictions Drive Increase in Women Street Vendors Amid Growing Poverty
Following the spread of poverty and the continued ban on women’s employment by the Taliban administration, the number of women resorting to street vending in roads and urban markets to support their families has increased. This situation has drawn widespread attention on social media and sparked critical reactions.
In one of the recently circulated videos on social media, a woman is seen selling vegetables with a hand-held cart on one of the city streets. Users who shared the video described it as an example of the consequences of economic pressures and restrictions imposed on women.
Some users specifically hold the policies of Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban administration, responsible for the rise in poverty and depriving women of job opportunities. They believe that systematically excluding women from government offices and the private sector has placed many families in economic crisis and forced women to turn to informal work under difficult conditions.
Since regaining power, the Taliban administration has imposed extensive restrictions on women’s education, employment, and dress code, focusing on enforcing what they term “Islamic Sharia.” This approach has faced both domestic and international criticism, with women’s rights activists considering it a systematic elimination of women from the country’s social and economic arenas.
