But this is not just about individual hardship. UN Women’s 2024 Afghanistan Gender Index shows that the deepening women’s rights crisis is also accelerating the country’s decline – widening inequalities across health, education, work, safety and decision-making.

Here’s what the data shows – and why it matters.

Accessing healthcare has become increasingly difficult for Afghan women. Since the Taliban takeover, fear, mobility restrictions, education bans, and systemic discrimination keep women and girls from getting the care they need.

A climate of fear keeps many women from even leaving their homes. Those who do, may have to travel miles to a clinic, only to be turned away, simply because they are women.

In some provinces, women can’t be treated by male doctors – and there are fewer  female health workers. A December 2024 ban by the DFA blocked women from studying medicine or midwifery, closing one of the last pathways for them to become healthcare providers.

The results are alarming. Women are living shorter, less healthy lives. Maternal mortality risks are rising, especially with high rates of adolescent birth due to child marriage. And most women can’t even make decisions about their own health – it's often left to male relatives.

Being confined to the home also has profound mental health consequences. Limited access to physical activity, community and emotional support has triggered a mental health crisis among women and girls, who report rising levels of anxiety, hopelessness and despair.

Like women everywhere, Afghan women are also more likely to put their own health last – prioritizing their children and families in a time of economic hardship.

When Afghan girls walk out of the school gates on the last day of grade six, their formal education is over. Since September 2021, the Taliban has banned girls from secondary school.

But the crisis begins even earlier: nearly 30 per cent of Afghan girls never start primary school due to poverty, restrictive gender norms and safety concerns. Families often withdraw both girls and boys from school to contribute to household income or prepare for child marriage, which has been on the rise as families struggle to cope with the economic crisis.

A few informal or online learning options exist, but they reach only a small fraction of girls and are no substitute for formal, full-time learning. It’s also not a pathway to high school or a job.

The impacts are devastating:

• 78 per cent of young Afghan women are not in education, employment or training – nearly four times the rate for young men
• By 2026, early childbearing is projected to rise by 45 per cent.
• Maternal mortality could increase by more than 50 per cent.
• Denying girls a secondary education is costing Afghanistan 2.5 per cent of its GDP every year.

This isn’t just about schools. It’s about lost futures, lost livelihoods and communities trapped in poverty.

Afghanistan now has one of the largest workforce gender gaps in the world. Just one in four women is working or seeking work, compared to nearly 90 per cent of men.

This is no accident. The Taliban have issued sweeping bans that bar women from working in sectors that once offered employment opportunities, such as the civil service, national and international NGOs, and beauty salons.

Most women who do work are forced into low-paying, unstable jobs in the informal economy. Even accessing money is a challenge – less than seven per cent of Afghan women have a bank account or use a mobile money service.

Women’s civil society organizations have also come under intense pressure. The Taliban have banned women NGO workers and removed women from leadership roles – even forcing NGOs to replace the word ‘women’ with ‘men’ in project documents. These restrictions have forced many women’s organizations to close or dramatically scale back, while others are struggling to remain operational.

Women are completely excluded from formal political life in Afghanistan. In 2020, Afghan women held over 25 per cent of seats in Parliament and could run for president. Today, they hold no positions in the de facto cabinet. The Taliban is closer than ever to achieving its vision of a society that completely erases women from public life.

Some women continue to find other ways to engage, meeting informally with the DFA to advocate for their organizations and communities. These quiet acts of influence matter, but are no substitute for equal representation.

There are no images of women in public office, on television or at official events. The message to girls and women is clear: leadership is not for you.

Even in their private lives, women’s influence is shrinking. UN Women data shows a 60 per cent drop in the number of women who feel they can influence decisions even within their own households – the only space they’re still ‘allowed’ to be.

The short answer: no – and the risks are rising.

While it’s no longer possible to safely or reliably collect nationwide data on gender-based violence in Afghanistan, available figures paint a dire picture.  In 2018, more than one in three Afghan women had experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner within the past year.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, violence has likely worsened. Economic hardship, restrictions on girls’ education and the dismantling of laws and services to prevent and respond to violence have created conditions for gender-based violence to grow unchecked.

Restrictions on movement can make daily life dangerous for women and girls. In many parts of the country, women must be accompanied by a male relative when they leave their homes – sometimes for even short journeys. Widows or women without close male relatives must risk their safety simply to buy food or access healthcare.

Rates of early, forced and child marriage remain high – and are rising. In 2023, nearly 30 per cent of Afghan girls under 18 were married, including 10 per cent under the age of 15. Some families, facing poverty, marry off daughters as a survival strategy.

Afghan women and girls continue to find ways to navigate and resist the tightening constraints on their lives.

Despite near-total restrictions they still run businesses and work on the front lines as humanitarian workers, journalists and community leaders.  

They continue to advocate for their rights – and the rights of all Afghans.

UN Women remains on the ground in Afghanistan, meeting immediate needs while safeguarding the future of Afghan women and girls. Our support includes:

• By women, for women programming, working with more than 200 women’s organizations – including with women leaders, human rights defenders, journalists and more;
• Engaging with the DFA to find ways to safeguard, support and empower those women’s organizations;
• Expanding support for women entrepreneurs through capital, training and access to markets;
• Delivering integrated services including psychosocial support, humanitarian services and livelihood activities to reach the most marginalized and vulnerable women and girls;
• Amplifying the voices of Afghan women in international decision-making platforms; and
• Documenting the impact of the women’s rights crisis on the ground.

UN Women urges global partners to:

• Allocate long-term flexible funding: Support women’s civil society organizations with sustained, adaptable resources.
• Ensure at least 30 per cent of funding to Afghanistan supports gender equality: Avoid programming that does not explicitly address the needs of both men and women, boys and girls. Make women’s rights central to all efforts.
• Don’t normalize discrimination: Prevent actions or partnerships that could unintentionally support or normalize the Taliban’s discriminatory policies.
• Integrate women’s rights across all humanitarian action: Human rights, especially women’s rights, must be foundational to aid and development responses.

Despite everything, Afghan women and girls continue to show strength, resilience and courage. But they should not have to face those challenges alone.

The world must act now – not just to meet urgent needs, but to protect a generation’s future. Silence is not an option. Solidarity is not optional.

Let’s listen. Let’s fund. Let’s fight for ALL women and girls in Afghanistan – together.