Denying Access: Taliban Regulations Prevent Women in Afghanistan from Education, Employment, and Earthquake Aid After Four Years
In the four years since the Taliban took over Afghanistan for the second time, the situation for women in the country has deteriorated significantly. The Taliban's restrictions on women's rights have led to a multitude of challenges, particularly in the healthcare sector.
The Taliban has prohibited women from working in many sectors, including NGOs, civil service, and beauty salons. This ban has resulted in a decreasing number of female health workers in Afghanistan. The lack of female health workers, combined with the restrictions on women's access to male doctors, is making it difficult for women to access medical care during emergencies, such as the September 1, 2025, earthquake that impacted over 11,600 pregnant women in Afghanistan.
The World Health Organization has urged the Taliban to end restrictions on Afghan female aid workers and allow them to travel without male guardians to help women struggling to access medical care. However, the Taliban has not only stopped women from working in healthcare but has also removed women from leadership roles and forced NGOs to replace the word 'women' with 'men' in project documents.
The de facto authorities in Afghanistan issued a ban in December 2024, preventing women from studying medicine or midwifery. This ban, coupled with the Taliban's no-skin contact rule between men and women, has led to women being isolated and abandoned during emergencies.
The crisis is exacerbated by the fact that Afghanistan already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the Asia Pacific area, with high rates of adolescent birth due to child marriage. Over 78% of Afghan women are not in education, employment, or training, and 62% of women feel they cannot influence decisions at home.
The UN has reported that the situation is critical, with just one in four women in Afghanistan working or seeking work, compared to nearly 90% of men. Women and girls have protested against the Taliban's restrictions, but they have been met with violence, arbitrary detention, and killings.
Recently, Russia recognized Afghanistan's Taliban government, adding to the international community's concern about the situation in the country. The Taliban's ongoing edicts restricting women and girls' movement through society, including the requirement for women to cover themselves from head-to-toe, barring them from secondary education, employment, appearing on television, or visiting parks, continue to be enforced without any sign of being overturned.
The situation in Afghanistan is a stark reminder of the importance of women's rights and the role they play in society. The ongoing struggle for women's rights in Afghanistan is not just a battle for equality, but a matter of life and death for many women and girls in the country.
