Nearly five years after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, women in the country rarely leave their homes, according to a UN Women report.
The Taliban seized the Afghan capital, Kabul, following a lightning offensive on 15 August 2021. Since then, the rights of women and girls have been massively restricted, including bans on attending secondary schools and universities.
Of surveyed women had left their home only twice or less per month
The UN Women survey included more than 2,000 people nationwide in two rounds of research, showing that results differ between urban and rural regions. While 96 percent of men surveyed left their house every day, 90 percent of women surveyed said they must obtain permission from a male family member before leaving the house.
Worsening prospects and mental health
Women are being pushed out of parts of working life, and 65 percent of those surveyed said their lives had turned out worse after the Taliban takeover than they had expected. Respondents cited massive restrictions on access to education for themselves and their children as the reason for these worsened prospects.
Mental health has also declined, with seven out of ten women surveyed stating their mental health had worsened over the past year. Among those surveyed, seven out of ten said they felt mentally bad or very bad. In additional interviews, women attributed these psychological problems to the restrictions.
My mother studied, but it got her nowhere.
The impact on the next generation is evident in the testimony of mothers, who reported relying on arranged marriage for their daughters because education is no longer viewed as a realistic option. One mother noted that otherwise, nothing is realistic for them.
Humanitarian crisis and hopes for equality
Afghanistan is experiencing a massive humanitarian crisis alongside these restrictions. The World Food Programme reported that 47 percent of minors in Afghanistan were malnourished in the first quarter of this year. The situation is being exacerbated by underfunded international aid programmes, droughts causing poor harvests, and almost 5.9 million returnees since September 2023.
Despite these conditions, according to the survey, most women named equality as their most important life goal, followed by their own income and their own house. According to the survey, 68 percent of women surveyed said they remain hopeful of achieving these goals at some point.
