Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM
Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM
Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM
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Activity level differs between men and women. The majority of persons with disability, who do not work due tothe severity of their condition, are men. Reasons for women not work<strong>in</strong>g are not directly l<strong>in</strong>ked to disability.In fact, Figure 34 shows that women aged 15-64, disabled or not, are very scarcely present <strong>in</strong> the labourmarket <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>come generat<strong>in</strong>g activities (only 9.0% are active). This is due to the fact that women are mostoften not allowed to go outside the house, especially for farm<strong>in</strong>g activities <strong>in</strong> the field. However, NDSA trendsshow that <strong>in</strong> urban centres, women more often participate <strong>in</strong> the labour market, especially when they are theonly ones to support their families after migration or death of husbands or fathers: 12.2% work and br<strong>in</strong>gan <strong>in</strong>come to the family.What is <strong>in</strong>disputable is the fact that women <strong>in</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong> are responsible for all household tasks: look<strong>in</strong>gafter children and elders, prepar<strong>in</strong>g meals, fetch<strong>in</strong>g wood and water if they are not too far, clean<strong>in</strong>g thehouse and the compound, etc. 90.0% of women aged 15 to 64 carry out all these tasks, which are physicallydemand<strong>in</strong>g. In urban areas, only 77.3% do exclusively household related tasks, whereas <strong>in</strong> rural areas thisfigure is 89.9%. In urban areas, a few women are students, look<strong>in</strong>g for a job or actually do<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>comegenerat<strong>in</strong>g activity; however these numbers rema<strong>in</strong> very low.Figure 34: Distribution of Persons with Disability andNon-Disabled Age 15-64 Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Employment Situationand GenderWomen <strong>in</strong><strong>Afghanistan</strong> areresponsible forall householdtasks: look<strong>in</strong>gafter children andelders, prepar<strong>in</strong>gmeals, fetch<strong>in</strong>gwood and waterif they are nottoo far, clean<strong>in</strong>gthe house and thecompound908070• Women with Disability• Non-Disabled Women• Men with Disability• Non-Disabled Men6050403020100Work<strong>in</strong>g Not Work<strong>in</strong>g Household TasksThe employment situation is even worse for women with disability. Results show that the proportion ofwomen with disability who do not or cannot work at all and do not have the capacity to do household tasksusually carried out by women are 26.3% <strong>in</strong> urban sett<strong>in</strong>gs and 24.7% <strong>in</strong> rural areas. This might, <strong>in</strong> turn, putat risk their chance of gett<strong>in</strong>g married, impact their position with<strong>in</strong> the family and the community, and reducethe consideration that they have with<strong>in</strong> Afghan society.Sometimes alongside household chores, women carry out an <strong>in</strong>come-generat<strong>in</strong>g activity or a few agriculturaltasks: farm<strong>in</strong>g and herd<strong>in</strong>g livestock. Yet, <strong>in</strong> Pashto areas particularly, women are not allowed to farm andherd livestock. Therefore, the figure of 6.0% of non-disabled women work<strong>in</strong>g probably underestimates theexact level of activity of women, which rema<strong>in</strong>s very hard to assess.Type of EmploymentAround 35.7% of Afghans who report hav<strong>in</strong>g employment, are owners, or have mortgaged the land theycultivate. Then come people hav<strong>in</strong>g their own <strong>in</strong>dependent activity, who represent 18.6% of the activepopulation. Considered together, it appears that more than half of the work<strong>in</strong>g population is composedof self-employed people. 15.6% are contract workers 34 , which is a rather protected status as compared34A contract worker is usually employed with a contract and is paid on a regular basis. The contract can be written or can be a verbalagreement.Employment of Afghans with Disability47