Women have been barred from most government employment—or had their salaries slashed and told to stay at home. They are often also first to be sacked from struggling private businesses—particularly those unable to segregate the workplace in line with Taliban rules
In this photo taken on July 30, 2022, baker Shapari, 40, poses for a portrait in Kandahar. Since their takeover a year ago, the Taliban have squeezed Afghan women out of public life, imposing suffocating restrictions on where they can work, how they can travel, and what they can wear. Image:Â Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
Herat, Afghanistan: Since their takeover a year ago, the Taliban have squeezed Afghan women out of public life, imposing suffocating restrictions on where they can work, how they can travel, and what they can wear.
There is hardly a woman in the country who has not lost a male relative in successive wars, while many of their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers have also lost their jobs or seen their income shattered as a result of a deepening economic crisis.
AFP took a series of portraits of women in major cities—Kabul, Herat and Kandahar—who are trying to keep households together by whatever means they can.
"During these hard times, it is my job that has made me happy," 40-year-old baker Shapari told AFP.