UN Reports Severe Restrictions on Women and Girls in Afghanistan
5 sources across 5 countries
Who reported this
- Der Spiegel
- The Jerusalem Post
- ANSA
- Reuters
- Al-Monitor
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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Half of Afghan women now leave their homes only once or twice a month due to restrictions imposed by the Taliban, according to data released by UN Women. The report indicates that 90 percent of women must obtain permission from a male family member before leaving the house, while 96 percent of men leave their homes daily. These findings come as the Taliban approach the fifth anniversary of their return to power in August 2021.
Education for females has been severely curtailed. UNESCO reports that approximately 2.4 million girls have been barred from secondary education, and women are prohibited from attending universities. The UN has described these policies as gender apartheid. The Taliban justify these restrictions based on their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture.
The impact extends to mental health and legal rights. Seven in ten women described their mental health as bad or very bad, citing isolation and loss of opportunity. Recent decrees have further weakened legal protections by abolishing legal equality between men and women and strengthening male authority within marriage. Economic participation is also low, with only 7 percent of women employed compared to 84 percent of men.
Some reports highlight a broader humanitarian crisis accompanying these social restrictions. According to the World Food Programme, 47 percent of minors were undernourished in the first quarter of this year, exacerbated by drought and underfunded aid programs.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- Emphasized the psychological toll on women and the broader humanitarian crisis including childhood malnutrition.
- Centre
- Focused on the systemic denial of education and the legal classification of the situation as gender apartheid.
- Centre-right
- Highlighted the dismantling of legal protections and the specific disparity in employment rates between genders.
Sources
- Centre ANSA: Unesco: "Excluded from schools since the return of the Taliban. The apartheid of Afghan women"
- Centre Al-Monitor: Half of Afghan women rarely leave home as Taliban restrictions deepen, UN agency says
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Afghanistan: More than half of women hardly leave their homes according to UN report
- Centre Reuters: Half of Afghan women rarely leave home as Taliban restrictions deepen, UN agency says - Reuters
- Centre-right The Jerusalem Post: Half of Afghan women rarely leave home as Taliban restrictions deepen, UN agency says
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.