RASC News Agency: Reports from Herat province in western Afghanistan confirm that 30% of the addicts in this region are women and young girls. A well-informed source in Herat province, speaking on the condition of anonymity, conveyed to a correspondent from RASC news agency on Saturday, the January 6, that out of the 52,000 individuals addicted to drugs in this province, 30% consist of young and middle-aged women and girls.
As per the source, many of these girls and women have succumbed to drug addiction due to their husbands and immediate family members being addicts, leading lives shrouded in darkness. The source adds that a significant portion of Afghanistan’s addicts, particularly in Herat province, contract this affliction in Iran. Upon returning to the country, they inadvertently expose their wives and other family members to this stage of life’s ruin. The source posits that some addicted girls and women, facing unsuitable living conditions, are compelled to turn to prostitution to make ends meet. Furthermore, some of these addicted individuals resort to begging, while others engage in prostitution. A few seek refuge in drug rehabilitation camps in an attempt to rebuild their lives.
According to the source, with a well-devised plan from the authorities in Afghanistan to address these societal issues, Herat could cease to bear witness to a visible presence of addicts among its populace. However, another source, opting not to disclose their identity in the report, informed RASC news agency that most women within the market who resort to begging are addicted individuals trying to cope with the costs of living and their desired substances. This source adds that some of these addicted women are native residents of Herat province, while others are reportedly from Pakistan or other regions. According to the source, these addicted girls and women, engaged in begging in the markets of Herat, span ages from 11 to over 50.
Nevertheless, another source in the health sector, declining to be named, told RASC that some addicted women, due to economic problems, sell their children after giving birth at a predetermined price. This source asserts that many families are deprived of the joy of having a child in their lives. By purchasing these infants, they reintroduce sweetness to their existence.
It is worth noting that, according to reports from media outlets in western Afghanistan, Herat province harbors the highest number of drug addicts. Notably, after Kabul province, Herat is considered the second region in Afghanistan where the statistics of drug addicts are escalating day by day.
