The impact of women's employment restrictions on financial stress among Afghan households : the mediating role of economic coping strategies

Abstract

The employment restrictions for women in Afghanistan have significantly reduced women's participation in paid labour since 2021 and affected household economic conditions. The loss of women's income has increased household vulnerability and led families to take various economic coping strategies which might lead to more financial stress. In this study we investigated the impact of women's employment restrictions on financial stress and investigated the mediating role of economic coping strategies among Afghan households. Based on the existing literature in the areas of household coping behaviour and financial stress, how household behaviour reacts to economic shocks and financial hardship was explained. The research design was quantitative and the primary data were gathered by means of an online questionnaire for Afghan women with employment restrictions using purposive and snowball sampling. 310 responses were collected and after cleaning data, 291 valid responses were retained for analysis. The data was analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4. The results shows that women's employment restrictions had a positive and significant impact on economic coping strategies and financial stress, and economic coping strategies also had a positive and significant impact on financial stress. Also, economic coping strategies partially mediated the relationship between women's employment restrictions and financial stress. These findings indicate that employment restrictions not only directly affect household financial stress but indirectly contribute to financial stress (e.g., by borrowing, reducing consumption, and relying on informal networks of support). This study contributes to the growing literature on the socioeconomic impact of women's employment restrictions in Afghanistan and presents empirical evidence that may aid policymakers, humanitarian organisations, and development agencies in developing strategies to support household economic resilience and reduce financial vulnerability in fragile countries and improve household economic resilience and welfare in Afghanistan.