Women’s Rights Under Taliban Rule in Afghanistan: Systematic Restrictions and Global Implications

Kokcha News Agency: The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 has led to a severe regression in women’s rights, with the group implementing over 80 decrees, directives, and laws aimed at restricting women’s societal roles. According to the UN Women’s 2024 Afghanistan Gender Equality Profile, these policies target women’s education, employment, freedom of movement, and visibility in public spaces. Key restrictions include:

• Education Ban: Girls are prohibited from attending school beyond the 6th grade, leaving approximately 1.1 million girls without access to secondary education. Universities have also been closed to women, halting the education of over 100,000 female students.
• Employment Restrictions: Women have been barred from most professions, reducing their workforce participation rate to 24%, compared to 89% for men. In December 2022, women were banned from working in NGOs, and by April 2023, this ban was extended to include UN female employees.
• Freedom of Movement: Women are not allowed to travel more than 75 kilometers without a male guardian (mahram) and must fully cover their faces and remain silent in public spaces.
• Public Space Restrictions: Women are banned from entering parks, gyms, and public baths. The Taliban’s “Virtue and Vice Prevention Law,” enacted in August 2024, considers the exposure of women’s faces and voices in public as “indecent.”

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) 2025 report highlights that the Taliban has weaponized the justice system to institutionalize discrimination against women. Female judges and prosecutors have been dismissed and replaced with men who share the Taliban’s extremist views, making access to justice nearly impossible for women.

2. Social and Individual Impacts
The Taliban’s policies have had devastating effects on women, both individually and socially. UN Women’s 2024 report reveals that 98% of women feel they have limited or no influence in decision-making processes within their communities, and their decision-making power within households has decreased by 60%.

• Education and Economic Loss: The education ban is projected to lead to a 45% increase in early childbirth and a 50% rise in maternal mortality by 2026. The exclusion of women from the workforce is also hindering Afghanistan’s economic growth.
• Psychological Effects: According to UN Women, 68% of women report poor or very poor mental health, and 8% say they know at least one woman or girl who has attempted suicide.
• Resistance and Coping Mechanisms: Women continue to resist these restrictions through underground education programs and home-based businesses (such as carpet weaving and tailoring). However, these efforts are increasingly challenged by Taliban surveillance.

3. International Community’s Response
The international community has condemned the Taliban’s policies as human rights violations and gender apartheid. UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett has described the Taliban’s actions as crimes against humanity, emphasizing that the justice system is being used to institutionalize discrimination against women.

In January 2025, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Taliban leaders on charges of gender-based persecution. However, the Taliban has rejected these decisions, citing national sovereignty.

UN Women is running programs to support women’s leadership and empowerment, such as literacy courses and entrepreneurship training. Despite these efforts, challenges in data collection and Taliban threats have limited their impact.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the international community to formalize the concept of gender apartheid, ensuring that such violations are clearly defined as crimes under international law.

4. Evaluation and Recommendations
The Taliban’s policies blatantly violate international human rights norms, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Afghanistan ratified in 2003. The systematic eradication of women’s political, economic, and social rights not only threatens Afghanistan but also the global struggle for gender equality.

Recommendations:

• International Pressure: Countries should condition recognition of the Taliban on their commitment to women’s rights. Economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation should be strengthened.
• Women’s Representation: Afghan women should be directly represented in international forums.
• Support Programs: Increased funding should be allocated to secure and covert programs for education and economic empowerment.
• Legal Steps: Efforts to define gender apartheid as a crime under international law should be accelerated.

Conclusion:

This article is based on reports from UN sources (UNAMA, UN Women, OHCHR) and other reliable organizations (HRW, The Hill, NBC News).