RASC News Agency: Female university professors have condemned the Taliban’s decision to significantly reduce their salaries, labeling the reduction down to 5,000 kabuli rupees as “degrading.” Reports from Monday, July 29, reveal that these educators feel their professional expertise and experience are vital for the students, yet the Taliban appear determined to marginalize female academic staff.
A group of these professors, who are part of the academic cadre of the Ministry of Higher Education, stated: “We have invested at least twenty years in our education, conducting scientific research, yet for the past two years, we have been confined to our homes, enduring severe psychological distress.” The professors further noted that in a society where cultural norms overshadow reason, human needs, and even religious principles, one cannot expect progressive change.
These academic professionals added: “We held onto hope that the Taliban would recognize the necessity of our contributions to Afghanistan’s youth and put an end to the insults and humiliations at university gates. However, not only has nothing improved, but the salaries of academic staff have been unjustly reduced to the level of casual laborers.” On June 5, the Taliban’s Administrative Office announced that their leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, had decreed a uniform salary of 5,000 kabuli rupees for all female government employees.
This directive initially caused widespread confusion across various governmental departments, leading to delays in salary payments for some female employees, including teachers in the Ministry of Education. The female university professors have described the imposition of a paltry 5,000 kabuli rupees salary for academic staff as an act of injustice and oppression by the Taliban. They added that the extent and duration of this humiliation and mistreatment remain uncertain.
