Half a million widows in Afghanistan, number is increasing

According to the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled, there are more than 500,000 widows in Afghanistan, most of them war widows. 

According to the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled, there are more than 500,000 widows in Afghanistan, most of them war widows. 

Of these, 70,000 are breadwinners for their families, the ministry said in recent statistics given to the media last week.  

Ninety percent of them are illiterate, some even taking care of as many as eight children, Hashratullah Ahmadzai, spokesman for the ministry, told the media. 

War widows who are registered by the government receive some meagre annual help from the ministry, but that does not meet the need of the victims, he said. 

Gul Ghotai, head of the statistics department at the Ministry of Women Affairs, said the government lacks any strategy on creating vocational or short-term jobs for the widows.