Five Years of Taliban Rule: Over 100 Decrees Issued Against Women, Denying Basic Rights

Five years into the Taliban's rule, Afghanistan remains a country where half the population, women and girls, are systematically denied fundamental rights. New data from UN Women reveals that over 50% of surveyed women venture outside their homes only once or twice a month due to stringent restrictions. Since August 2021, the de facto authorities have enacted more than 100 decrees targeting women and girls, further curtailing their access to justice and stripping them of equal legal status and protection.

Specific decrees have had devastating consequences. Decree No. 12 nullifies legal equality between men and women, granting husbands authority over their wives and limiting women's ability to seek justice. Domestic violence is criminalized only in cases of severe, visible bodily harm. Decree No. 18 makes it significantly harder for women to divorce, while preserving men's unilateral right to do so. It also effectively permits child marriage, further undermining the rights and safety of girls.

The systematic exclusion of Afghan women from education, the labor market, public life, the justice system, and healthcare has intensified over the past year. This forced isolation, often accompanied by an increased risk of violence, severely impacts women's mental health. Access to healthcare is also becoming more difficult due to movement restrictions and a growing shortage of female medical professionals. Afghanistan already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates globally, recorded at 638 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024.

Afghanistan stands as the sole country globally with a systematic ban on girls' secondary education and women's university access. The potential future educators, doctors, nurses, and midwives are being denied their education. Projections indicate that if current restrictions persist, Afghanistan could lose over 25,000 female educators and healthcare workers by 2030. In 2026, humanitarian aid is critically needed for over 10.7 million Afghan women and girls as the healthcare situation deteriorates, hunger rises, and access to essential services continues to shrink. The UN agency implores the international community not to forget this unprecedented crisis.