Ninety-six per cent of Afghanistan rate their lives poorly enough to be considered suffering, reported local media citing a Gallup survey.
According to the survey, “nearly all Afghans (94 per cent) rate their lives poorly enough to be considered suffering” since the Taliban’s takeover of the country with a population of around 40 million, reported Tolo News.
However, the suffering among women has increased to an even greater extent as 96 per cent of women consider their lives equivalent to suffering. Further, 75 per cent of Afghan women suffer from being deprived of their rights.
“The women are banned from going to work and the girls are banned from education. These are all major hardships that could be end by allowing girls to attend school and women to work,” the media outlet quoted Shumayal, a women’s rights activist.
Notably, the Taliban regime which took over Kabul in August last year has curtailed women’s rights and freedoms, with women largely excluded from the workforce due to the economic crisis and restrictions.
Further, the survey indicates that the rate of poverty in the country has also exceeded 95 per cent since the fall of the former government while 56 per cent are seeking to leave the country amid a drop in daily income.
Moreover, millions of Afghans are on the brink of starvation as the country reels from a humanitarian crisis.
“There is a lot of suffering. One person is suffering from lack of food, accommodation and a job, and another one is suffering from losing his job as an employee and is concerned about his fate,” said a resident of Kabul, Esmatullah, according to the Afghan news agency.
According to the survey, Afghanistan also has the highest level of suffering measured for any country since 2005.