✍️ Hamia Naderi
In its latest report, the UN Women’s section has described the situation of Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule as “shocking.” The findings reveal that women have been systematically excluded from education, employment, political participation, and access to healthcare — while violence against them is three times higher than the global average.
The report, titled “Afghanistan Gender Index 2024,” documents what it calls an “unprecedented and deliberate assault on the rights, freedoms, and dignity” of Afghan women and girls since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. Deprived of every opportunity to participate in decisions that shape their lives, they have been pushed out of nearly all areas of public life.
Although women have shown resilience and refused to remain silent, their standing in human development has sharply declined over the past four years. According to the index, nearly 8 out of every 10 young Afghan women are denied education and employment — a rate four times higher than that of men. Afghanistan is now the country with the second-largest gender gap in the world, with a 76% disparity between women and men in health, education, financial access, and decision-making.
Healthcare Access Crumbles
The report underscores that access to healthcare for women has deteriorated to its lowest point. Systemic and societal barriers continue to undermine women’s health. A lack of infrastructure, the ban on girls’ medical education, and entrenched discrimination have devastated women’s access to medical services. Fewer than half of Afghan women who need family planning have access to modern contraception.
Girls’ Education on the Brink of Collapse
Education for girls remains a critical concern. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls above the sixth grade are banned from school. The UN warns that, if this ban persists, the rate of girls completing their education could drop to zero. This systematic exclusion has widened gender and livelihood gaps and concentrated leadership entirely in male hands, further stifling women’s individual growth.
Women Confined to Low-Paying Jobs
Women’s participation in the workforce in 2024 is significantly lower than that of men — 24% compared to 89%. Women often work in low-paying, insecure, and informal sectors. The Taliban’s restrictions have marginalized women from economic opportunities, stripping them of financial independence and access to resources. Data shows that only 6.8% of women have a bank account or use mobile money services.
Political Erasure of Women
Women’s political participation has been completely dismantled under the Taliban. Before 2021, women had begun gaining visibility in politics, but today their absence silences their voices and denies them any role in shaping policies or improving their lives and communities. The exclusion of women from politics removes female leaders from public view, undermines social recognition of women’s power, and limits role models for future generations.
Violence Three Times Higher Than the Global Average
Despite years of international efforts to combat gender-based violence, Afghanistan still records some of the highest rates of physical and sexual violence in the world. The WHO reports that 34.7% of Afghan women experienced violence from an intimate partner in the past year — nearly triple the global average of 13%. Women also face honor killings, forced and child marriages, and being traded to settle tribal disputes.
The UN warns that this reality not only violates women’s right to live safely and freely but also severely limits their ability to make independent choices and casts a dark shadow over every aspect of gender equality. In the absence of legal and social support, discriminatory laws, and Taliban policies, Afghan women and girls remain more vulnerable to gender-based violence than ever before.
