Page 9 - Empowerment and Protection - Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN
“What makes
me feel secure is the opportunities for work.“
razmal is an ethnic Pashtun, who works as a journalist in Kabul but is originally from Kandahar.
In Kabul the most significant contributor to my insecurity is the gun culture. nowadays all of our political leaders drive around with an entourage of private security personnel who are threatening, because they are not held accountable. this is
a trend that has its roots in the civil war period, when mujahedeen leaders depended on guns for their position and power. this has created a hostile environment in Afghanistan where you can’t feel comfortable to travel around freely without fear for your security and it’s because those with arms tend to ignore the basic rights of others.
What makes me feel secure is the opportunities for work. for instance, I am a journalist and I feel proud when I present myself as one, because it empowers me and enables me to raise my voice against any issue that I feel is important. As a youth I feel that the challenges I have mentioned as contributing to my insecurity are also relevant to other youth. this is because there are no facilities for youth. they are isolated from the decision-making process or are influenced by others’ decisions.
Demographic differences and commonalities
Ethnic discrimination
Perceptions of the leading drivers of insecurity differ slightly amongst different ethnic groups. Ethnic discrimination is cited more by Hazara and Tajik interviewees than by Pashtun interviewees. Hazara and Tajik interviewees identify ethnic discrimination, inadequate political representation and lack of national unity or reconciliation as significant contributors to their sense of insecurity. They attribute parochial perceptions of ethnicity to traditionalist mindsets and illiteracy.
Rural versus urban
Many of the issues mentioned by interviewees in Kabul are similar to those mentioned by people
RLD BANK 2014A)
for Afghanistan, particularly for women. Though
it is difficult to estimate the illiteracy rate, a 2010 report by UNICEF found that almost 80 percent of women aged 15 to 24 are illiterate.11 Since literacy has the potential to raise individuals’ standard of living it is tied to other human security concerns, such as unemployment.
Unemployment and lack of economic opportunity
Reflecting on the role of economy and human security, many of those interviewed point to the
lack of employment, low income levels, declining business profits and general conditions of poverty
as factors that greatly contribute to their insecurity. Sohail, a woman from Kunduz province working for the government says, “I feel insecure all the time.
My government salary is not enough to sustain my family. I want to move my family to Kabul where my
fff22 storIes of HuMAn securIty | AfgHAniStAn HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
INDEX 2013
children can get a better education but I can’t afford
=10.000.000
to shift my family with my government salary.”
Many interviewees are concerned about the Afghan economy, in particular about the impact that the withdrawal of the international community will have. Businessmen cite a decline in their profit margins, while others are concerned with the lack of social security in the private sector. This issue is cited as a matter of greater anxiety for the poor and those living in rural areas than those in the urban centres. Moreover, as Zahid pointed out earlier, unemployment is often linked to the issue of youth and their vulnerability as recruits for the insurgency.
Gul Nabi, a 46-year-old from Laghman, expresses concern over his business. He says, “I am not happy with my life and from what I see happening around me, the poor are getting poorer and the economy is worsening. My greatest fear is unemployment. [...] I used to get a hundred customers a day and now I don’t even get ten, so I fear that when I lose my business it will be very difficult for me to find employment in this environment.”
“There is nothing that contributes to my security but my family and friends.”