The woman in Kabul working for women in Afghanistan
Pamela Stathakis has been working as programme manager and deputy head of the Swiss humanitarian office in Kabul, Afghanistan, since June 2025. Find out what it's like to live at a compound with four other people – and why the work and the country are so exciting that she has extended her contract.
Pamela Stathakis' commute from her home to the office is very short. The deputy head of the humanitarian office for Afghanistan lives and works in the Swiss compound – a closed, secure area – in Kabul. Pamela is housed right next to the office building, which she reaches through a door in the garden wall. And because her bedroom is close to the office entrance, her wake-up call comes when the security staff go on duty at 5.30am.
Her working day starts at 8am at the latest. The reason for this early start, especially in winter, is that the ten local employees have to make their way home at 4pm before it gets dark. The day is packed with meetings and discussions. Lunch is served in the in-house canteen. After work, between 6 and 7pm, it's time to go back through the garden wall.
Compound life is very restricted
Work-life balance? The five Swiss employees lead their lives in a very confined space. Living in the compound and in Afghanistan in general is a challenge. A jog around the block, a visit to a café, shopping in the bazaar? Not possible for security reasons. If they are invited to the UN compound in the evening, they have to be back by 9.30pm. What about weekend trips? Not possible either.
Doors that open and close again
Three of the ten local employees are women. Pamela finds it “very nice that our office offers Afghan women an environment in which they can apply their professional skills. Such spaces are rare in Afghanistan today.” Support for Afghan women is also one of the three priorities of the humanitarian office in Afghanistan. Although the opportunities for women are very limited, they are allowed to run a business, for example. This is one of the doors that remains open for women, even when other doors close. This is why the SDC supports women with financial start-up aid, among other things, to set up small businesses. This important project is being realised in cooperation with UN Women.
So far, Pamela has been able to visit Swiss-funded projects (see info box) in the provinces of Bamyan and Kandahar. There she has also met women's groups and organisations run by women. The fact that women are allowed to set up NGOs is another one of these doors. “It gives them a way to work, to get out and meet other women. But the director of the organisation has to be a man.” As a woman, Pamela can talk to the Afghan women, visit them in their workplaces and see the success of the project for herself. “Thanks to these structures, they can get out and meet other women. This makes a real difference to their mental health. Otherwise they would be at home 24 hours a day.”
It is this complexity, and the search for these doors, that fascinates Pamela so much about her work in Afghanistan. There's no shortage of challenges and sources of frustration, but it's because of these “glimmers of light making it possible to do something for women” that she finds the country “incredibly exciting” and has therefore decided to extend her contract for the time being. Until then, she will spend the weekends watching films with her fellow residents in the compound, talking to as many women as possible and looking out for more doors that can be opened.
Part of the CHF 25 million in Swiss funding for Afghanistan goes into funds used by the World Bank and OCHA for projects. Around a quarter goes directly to UN partners, including UN Women, which primarily implements projects for women. A portion goes to international and local NGOs, including those run by women, which enables direct cooperation with women. 24 million people are dependent on humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. Part of Switzerland's support also goes to the ICRC, which implements humanitarian projects.
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