Women and girls in Afghanistan have seen their rights severely constrained since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
The Taliban has issued at least 70 decrees and directives that directly target the autonomy, rights, and daily lives of women and girls. Women face severe restrictions on access to education, work, reproductive rights, maternal health care, mental health services, and more.
Nevertheless, Afghan women continue to show remarkable resilience and courage. From the seemingly simple act of stepping out of their homes to the more complex efforts of running businesses, organising communities, and striving for equality, their determination remains unshaken and, in some cases, is even growing stronger.
UN Women is on the ground in Afghanistan, supporting Afghan women and girls every day. Our in-country strategy centres on investing in women—from scaling up support to women’s organisations and women humanitarian workers delivering life-saving services, to investing in women-led businesses. This work is only possible with the instrumental support of our Afghan women staff.
Please show your support for women and girls in Afghanistan by donating today.
98%
of women felt they had limited or zero influence on decision-making in their communities.
68%
of women reported ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ mental health.
8%
of people indicated knowing at least one woman or girl who had attempted suicide.
Data on political influence and mental health from UN Women/IOM/UNAMA. Statistic on suicide from Bishnam Data.
Read more about women in Afghanistan
Press briefing by UN Women Country Representative in Afghanistan, Alison Davidian
UN Women Country Representative in Afghanistan, Alison Davidian, spoke at the noon briefing at the UN Headquarters about the state of women and girls three years since the Taliban takeover.
Resources
Resolve of Afghan women in the face of erasure: Three years since the Taliban takeover
This policy paper marks three years since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. It aims to alert the international community to what diminished attention to the women’s rights crisis and limited investments in women’s resilience mean for gender equality and the status of women and girls, and men and boys—as well as Afghanistan’s development more broadly. It is intended to guide international actors with an array of formal mandates and responsibilities in consistently aligning all policies and actions with women’s human rights.
Gender alert no. 4: Back to the 1990s? Women’s rights under the Taliban
Since August 2021, the Taliban have implemented a consistent and continuously expanding assault on women’s rights in Afghanistan. An assault which, with each passing day, decree after decree, sees the Taliban move closer to approximating their period of rule in Afghanistan during the 1990s.
This Gender Alert brings together publicly available gender data and analysis covering the period between August 2022 and February 2023.
