Why are women, particularly widows prevented from working or earning a living?
Islam prohibits Khalwah. This means that men and women working side by side in an office or factory setting is not allowed. In Afghanistan, there had been women employed by the government in such situations. Those women are now receiving salaries despite their not being required to attend their jobs. If a woman is employed in, for example, a hospital for women, where there is no khalwah, there is no prohibition on her employment. Today in Afghanistan, more than 30,000 women are receiving home salaries In the case of widows. In Islam the woman may choose to remain in her late husband’s home or return to the home of her parents or even to live alone with her children. Most often in the cultural society of Afghanistan, the woman chooses to remain with her husband’s family or return to her own. In either case the Taliban government provides stipends for widows who are registered with the government. This frees the woman from the worry of how to support herself and allows her to concentrate
