Public health ministry officials have raised concern about the alarmingly high number of female drug addicts in the country.

According to them at least one million women and 100,000 children are drug addicts.

Last year officials stated that three million people were addicts, but the new figure of one million female addicts could mean the total number is much higher than initially thought.

Shahpor Yusuf, the head of the anti-drug department at the public health ministry, said on Sunday at an event to mark International Women’s Day that the number of child addicts was also extremely high – at 100,000. 

The children, officials said, were all below the age of 10.

Sunday’s ceremony was held at a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul.

In this episode of Tawde Khabare host Shazia Haya discusses the topic with the following guests: 

Nasima Niazi, MP
Ibrahim Azhar, Former Deputy Minister of Counter Narcotics
Nahid Esar, women’s rights activist 
Shahpor Yusuf, head of the anti-drug department at the public health ministry