My name is Rohina. I live in one of the most remote provinces of Afghanistan, Badakhshan. With great enthusiasm, I completed my education at the Faculty of Economics at the private Barna University in this province. After graduating, I decided to contribute to my family’s income by working. After much effort, I succeeded in securing a position as a psychological counselor at an organization.
Despite the restrictions on women working in institutions, we were allowed to continue because our work was related to health, as long as we followed the rules, such as wearing the hijab and being accompanied by a male chaperone for travel and work.
The project we worked on was funded by the UN. Unfortunately, with the cessation of aid in 2025, our office was completely shut down. Like every household in Afghanistan, mine faces serious economic challenges, and this decision led to the loss of my job. As the main provider for my family, this situation brought me deep despair. I had supported myself and my loved ones through that salary. This decision has had a complete and far-reaching impact on our lives.
The end of aid has also severely affected our work in the mental health sector. After forty years of war, both men and women have been left psychologically wounded, and there is an urgent need for expanded mental health support. People came to us with hope, seeking solutions to their struggles, but now they are left without access to those vital services.
During my three years of work as a psychological counselor in the areas we served, I saw firsthand how people were suffering in many different ways. In addition to providing mental health support, we also helped individuals with disabilities who were in urgent need of material aid. Now that assistance has been cut off, many people, especially in Badakhshan, no longer have access to these essential services.
