Addicted Women in Poli-e-Shokhta,

At least 20 percent of older women used opium, particularly for respiratory problems in many region of Afghanistan even in capital city, Kabul. The disparity alone demonstrates a stronger need for quantifiable data. These elders will motivate the other members of their families to use opium instead of medicine and other treatments. 

Opium enjoys a long history in Afghanistan. First introduced by Alexander the Great over 2,000 years ago, its traditional usage among minority groups such as Tajik Ismailis and Turkmens included a wide range of social reasons, from sexual stamina to physical strength, as well as a medicine for over 50 diseases.

Additionally, the use of opium, along with other illicit substances, has been seen by an increasing number of Afghan women as a short-term palliative for their suffering. However, in the long term it results in a wide range of social, economic, legal and health-related problems for the individuals, families and communities concerned, he warned. In short, such abuse poses a distinct barrier to human and socio-economic development.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health said, that 30% of drug addicts in the country are women, numbering about 850,000. According to MoPH total number of drug addicts in the country reached 2.5 million people and of which 850,000 are female drug users.

It affects the children too. Parents not only use themselves, but also give drugs to their children. In addition to heroin, opium and crystal meth, the addicts of Bazobala are also familiar with other drug options, like tramadol tablets. It is a cheap alternative to heroin and opium.

Those women who use drugs, commit suicide. Since they commit suicide, their funeral prayers are forbidden. They cannot be washed. In Kabul’s ‘Pul-e-Sokhta area, this is not just the story of this women’s life.

Throughout Afghanistan, it is known as a drug addiction center. The Pol-e- Sokhta bridge in western Kabul has become a major hub for drug users for the past two decades. An iconic symbol of drug abuse in a nation rife with addiction.

In many families in the area, they use drugs with their husbands and children. This is Soraya, who has been addicted to drugs for 10 years and living under the Pol-e-Sokhta. Soraya, her husband and her child use drugs together.

Photo by Najeeb Farzad