The situation of unemployment is haunting Afghanistan to a threatening extent. Different youngsters living in different parts of the country are suffering from its negative consequences. Some current news reports and features reveal that about 400 educated youth remain unemployed in Ghor province and they, disheartened by the situation, have warned that they have no choice but to swell the ranks of insurgents or smugglers. They have complains regarding the policies of the government and believe that government is not doing enough to provide job opportunities to the youth. They even claim that the available positions are unjustly filled by the cronies of provincial council members, parliamentarians and other bigwigs through corruption, which further aggravates the situation and add to the frustration of the unemployed youth.
The situation is not only grave in case of Ghor, there are many youngsters throughout the country who are suffering because of the curse of unemployment. Every year thousands of students complete their education but there is no mechanism in the country that can absorb those students in different profession. According to estimates of World Bank about 180,000 students complete their higher education each year but hardly 60,000 are able to find jobs, while the rest become the victims of unemployment, which then compels them to find different alternatives and even opt for illegal ways of earning livelihood.
According to the calculations of Afghanistan Labor Association about 16 million Afghan are eligible for employment and out of that number only 3 million are employed. The rest are mostly jobless or work as daily wagers or opt for other options, which includes joining the ranks of the terrorists or joining hands with smugglers and criminals. Given that the numbers are true, there are serious concerns and these concerns must be dealt with immediately before it is too late.
It is imperative for a government within a state to create job opportunities for its people. Job opportunities would definitely enable the residents of a state to make positive use of their capabilities for betterment and development of a society. It is really important to understand that a state and its population are highly dependent on each other. It is difficult to imagine any of them living separately. As the state guarantees better life opportunities for its population, the population in return must, through thinking and action, strive to make the state stronger.
However, if the job opportunities in a state are limited and the unemployment is rampant, the consequences are really severe. Though unemployment in itself is a severe problem, it is also the root of many other problems. Unemployment is basically an injustice done to a population. It is basically the unavailability of jobs when there are people who have the required qualifications to be employed for different positions. Thus it is injustice, as the qualified people do not get what they deserve – a respectable profession to join so as to use their education and knowledge.
The people who spend a lengthy process of completing their education or acquiring particular skills should be absorbed by the job industry as soon as they are ready to work. Failure to provide such an opportunity may influence those people to a great extent. They, in order to live alive, need to earn a livelihood, which is threatened by unemployment; therefore, they seek to find out other ways of earning a livelihood. In the process they either join a profession that may not be of their choice or they may join illegal ways of earning, which would damage the society to a large extent.
Afghan society is one of the societies that have been haunted by the ghost of unemployment to a threatening degree. As the country has been largely dominated by different era of disorder and instability, the socio-economic infrastructure has not been developed much and as a result the job opportunities have always been limited. Though Afghan society is an agricultural society, the sector has not been able to absorb a large number of unemployed people. Mostly the people have been engaged in agricultural activities on personal basis and the sector has not been developed into an industry on modern grounds; therefore, the ones who own lands can benefit from them while the ones who do not own such lands are bound to remain out of work.
Undoubtedly, unemployment has done great damage to Afghan society. The people who have not been employed have mostly become the part of terrorist networks or the filthy business of narcotics, or even they have become addicted to drugs. As they do not have any other work to do or any way of making both ends meet they do not have much option but to join insurgency.
It is also feared that after the international forces withdraw from the country, the country would face major economic challenges. The financial support would also decrease for Afghanistan. One of the biggest challenges would be to create job opportunities for Afghan people. In absence of sufficient job opportunities, it would be really very difficult to maintain peace, tranquility and order. The international community and the Afghan authorities must make sure that they create enough jobs so as to save the country from falling into instability and economic crisis.