KABUL (Pajhwok): Bibi Koh, one of many women whose life has been shattered by the wars of the past four decades in Afghanistan, has endured endless hardships after the disappearance of her husband and the disability of her only son.
However, her psychological wounds remain unhealed.
More than 50 percent of Afghanistan’s population is grappling with psychological issues due to nearly four decades of war.
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) is working to address this problem by increasing the number of psychological specialists and improving counselling services.
Suffering from husband’s disappearance, son’s disability
Bibi Koh, 73, from Balkh province, married a craftsman in Mazar-i-Sharif 43 years ago at the age of 30. The result of this marriage was a son and a daughter.
With tears in her eyes, she told Pajhwok Afghan News: “My husband was a kind man, he loved me a lot. One day, he went to work, but never returned. His fate, whether alive or dead, remains unknown to this day.”
She didn’t know in which year her husband went missing.
She added after her husband’s disappearance, she was lost as to how she would care for her son and daughter, but with determination, she started working in people’s homes to earn a living for herself and her children.
This grieving mother said that after enduring years of hardships, her son and daughter grew up to adulthood. She married off her daughter, and her son, who had become her helper, also got married. Her life, and that of her family, reached a point of happiness and calm once again, but soon after, war and insecurity once more snatched away their peace.
During the previous government, her only son was injured in an explosion in Balkh, and both his hand and one leg were paralysed.
The disability of her son broke this mother’s heart even more, adding another psychological blow that still manifests in her. While talking, sometimes she repeats words, sometimes forgets what she was saying and falls silent, and sometimes she laughs or tears fill her eyes. All of this shows that, in addition to her other difficulties,
Bibi Koh is deeply suffering from mental and psychological issues.
Having spent her youth raising her two orphaned children, now in her old age, when it should be time for her son to take care of her, a much bigger responsibility has fallen on her shoulders, as she now has to support her disabled son, daughter-in-law, and six grandchildren.
She says that since she could no longer work in people’s homes, she thought of opening a shop. For this reason, she came to Kabul about five years ago, but her disabled son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren still live in Mazar-i-Sharif, as she cannot afford the rent in Kabul.
Now, Bibi Koh has set up a wooden booth on a mobile cart next to Zarghona High School in the Shahr-i-Naw area of Kabul, where she sells stationery and some snacks for children.
She says coming to Kabul with empty hands and starting this business was a big challenge for her. But she worked in the home of a trader for a while to save enough money to start her business.
Bibi Koh says that she now lives in a room provided by that businessman, and the money she earns from her booth is sent to her disabled son’s family in Mazar-i-Sharif.
Her eyes were fixed on old photos of her son, before he was paralysed. This mother, with eyes full of tears, said: “Old age on one side, the pain of my child on the other… If I’m not here, who will give him bread?”
She added, “Since the day my child became disabled, and since my husband went missing, I haven’t had a moment of peace. My thoughts wander all over, my ears don’t hear properly, my blood pressure and cholesterol are high, and I have no choice but to stay here. What am I doing here?”
This grieving mother believes that war and insecurity are the causes of her own misery and the suffering of the people of Afghanistan. She considers peace achieved as a valuable treasure and hopes that it will last, wishing for the country to never witness war and insecurity again.
Worrying number of psychological problems in Afghanistan
Bibi Koh is not the only one affected by the wars of the past four decades and suffering from psychological issues.
Dr Sharafat Zaman, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, told Pajhwok Afghan News that, according to a survey conducted in recent years, about 50 percent of the people in Afghanistan are suffering from some form of psychological problem.
Psychological challenges, need for more specialists
Dr Abdul Jalil Amarkhil, a psychologist in Kabul, said that over four decades of war in the country have left millions of widows and orphans behind. When a woman loses her father, son, brother, or husband, and the responsibility of providing for the family falls on her, this situation can lead to psychological problems.
He added: “There are very few psychologists in Afghanistan, and people rarely visit health centres because of social stigma; they fear that if they go to a psychologist, they will be considered crazy. As a result, psychological disorders are increasing every day.”
He emphasised that, in addition to raising awareness among the people about visiting psychologists when they observe signs of psychological problems, serious attention should also be given to increasing the number of specialists in this field.
Efforts by MoPH to improve mental health
Dr Sharafat Zaman said that the ministry is currently paying serious attention to mental health and increasing the number of specialists in this field.
According to him, mental health services are provided in an integrated manner at 4,517 health centres across the country, where patients receive psychological counselling. Additionally, in 437 comprehensive health centres, both psychological and social counselling services, as well as pharmaceutical treatment, are provided.
He added that so far, 129 specialists in mental health have graduated from the Ministry’s specialist programme and are currently working in hospitals across four regions of the country, with one mental health hospital in Kabul.
Dr Zaman noted that currently, 1,100 social and psychological counsellors have been deployed by partner organisations across the country, and 600 other psychological counsellors have been recruited in government health centres to provide counselling services.
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