Monitoring Desk: Female teachers in are accusing the Taliban administration of withholding their salaries for the past three months and subjecting them to systematic pressure aimed at forcing them out of their jobs.
According to multiple sources, the alleged policy is designed to push women to resign voluntarily, allowing authorities to avoid direct criticism for banning female educators from schools.
Teachers report that while their salaries have been suspended, individuals affiliated with or close to the Taliban have been appointed to replace them. “This process is not only discriminatory but has led to targeted dismissals and forced resignations,” one teacher said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
Sources claim that several female teachers are replaced by Taliban linked appointees or they have to work without salaries. In a recent case, a teacher identified as Hamida was replaced by the daughter of a senior official in the provincial Department of Education.
“In place of one of the teachers, Hamida, the daughter of Saleh Mohammad, the head of human resources at the Taliban’s Department of Education, was appointed,” a source alleged.
Ethnic discrimination has also been cited as a factor. Several Uzbek female teachers say they were removed from their posts and replaced by Pashtun affiliates. Salima, a dismissed teacher using a pseudonym, said two Uzbek head teachers were replaced by Pashtun counterparts, while dozens of additional positions were filled by new appointees.
Teachers further allege that many women have been reassigned to remote and hard-to-reach areas such as Kikartak, Salmazan, and Jaqsai, increasing travel costs and logistical challenges so they can resign and go home.
Educators say these transfers are a deliberate tactic to create economic and social pressure, ultimately forcing women to resign. Some also report being assigned “extra teaching” duties while their original subjects were redistributed to newly appointed staff through personal connections.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s participation in public life. While limited roles in sectors such as education and health remain technically permitted, women working in these fields report increasing constraints, insecurity, and pressure.
