United Nations: Afghan Women and Girls Endure Unprecedented Oppression Under Taliban Rule

The report, released on Monday (June 10), examines the situation of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule and calls for urgent global action to end this ongoing oppression.

Prepared by the UN Women, the report includes surveys and profiles of women who have experienced gender-based discrimination since the Taliban takeover. It describes how 40 years of progress on women's rights have been destroyed in less than three years with the issuance of over 70 decrees by the Taliban.

UN Women notes that the social isolation of women and girls is driving them to despair. According to the statistics provided, only 1% of women feel they have influence in society, and 8% of women surveyed know at least one woman who has committed suicide since August 2021. In addition, 18% of participants said they had not met with women outside their families even once in the past three months.

The report also shows that the dropout of 1.1 million girls and the ban on over 100,000 women from attending university are linked to an increase in maternal mortality. One survey participant said, "Women want the right to make decisions, not just in their homes, but in government and other spaces. They want education and work; they want their rights."

Alison Davidian, UN Women's Special Representative for Afghanistan, said that Afghan women are showing extraordinary resilience, continuing to run organizations, businesses and provide services in the face of unbelievable challenges. She stressed: "We must invest in their resilience and Afghanistan must be at the top of the international agenda."

UN Women has also recommended that Afghan women's civil society organizations be supported with long-term funding to combat this situation. The organization has also emphasized that the international community should avoid actions that inadvertently support or normalize the Taliban's discriminatory policies, norms and values.

The UN Women's Entity has proposed that at least 30% of all financial assistance to Afghanistan be allocated to initiatives explicitly aimed at promoting gender equality, women's rights and avoiding support for gender-blind projects. Human rights, with a special focus on women's rights, should also be included as a fundamental aspect in all humanitarian activities and interventions addressing basic human needs.

This report is being released while, since the Taliban took power, women have been banned from education, schooling, work, and presence in many public places, and strict restrictions have been imposed on their travel.