Rhetoric vs. Resilience: Global Responses to Afghan Women’s Rights

Introduction

The status of Afghan women under Taliban rule reflects the harsh realities of war and its disproportionate impact on women’s rights, autonomy, and daily lives. Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, women have faced stringent ‘morality laws’, severely restricting their autonomy and public presence. Under Taliban rule, Afghan women are systematically erased from social, economic, and political spheres, reflecting a broader strategy of oppression. Socially, women face severe restrictions, such as mandatory dress codes and bans on public performances, which render them invisible in their communities (UN Women, 2022; Amnesty International, 2023). Economically, nearly 80% of women are unemployed due to the closure of businesses and limitations on mobility, exacerbating their dependence and poverty (International Labour Organization, 2023; World Bank, 2023). Politically, the Taliban’s exclusion of women from governance and decision-making processes highlights their deliberate marginalization, undermining international calls for inclusion (Human Rights Watch, 2023; European Union, 2023). This multifaceted oppression denies Afghan women their rights and agency, posing significant barriers to societal progress and stability.

Pre-Taliban Period: Women’s Presence Across Various Spheres:

Afghan women have demonstrated remarkable resilience irrespective of what has been happening. During the post-2001 period, when international forces supported the Afghan government, women made significant strides in reclaiming their rights. Afghan women took on roles in education, health care, and civil society, risking their lives. As highlighted in community conversions held in various provinces of Afghanistan, women continued to participate in the workforce and public life despite the risks associated with their activism.

• Women in Governance and Politics: After the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, Afghan women began to reclaim their space in governance and public administration. Women such as Fawzia Koofi and Shukria Barakzai rose to political prominence, advocating for women’s rights in the National Assembly and promoting gender equality in law-making. Despite facing threats, they remained staunch advocates for their communities, highlighting the crucial role women played in post-war governance (Barfield, T. (2012). Afghanistan: A cultural and political history. Princeton University Press)
• Women in Health Care and Education: Afghan women demonstrated remarkable resilience by taking up critical roles in the healthcare and education sectors post-2001. Female doctors, nurses, and midwives were essential in providing healthcare services to women, especially in rural areas where male healthcare workers could not engage directly with female patients due to cultural restrictions. Female teachers and school administrators took significant risks in education to promote female literacy, especially in provinces like Herat and Kabul. These efforts were crucial for rebuilding Afghanistan’s social fabric despite ongoing security threats (Naderi, M., & Saadat, A. (2018). The role of Afghan women in the education and health sectors: Achievements and challenges post-2001. Journal of Gender Studies, 27(4), 556-570. doi:10.1080/09589236.2017.1407110)

Current Taliban Regime: Impact on Women’s Roles and Rights:

However, with the Taliban’s return to power, these achievements have been systematically dismantled. Afghanistan’s National Unity Government, established in 2015, proved incapable of addressing the deep-rooted issues of unemployment, inequality and insecurity that have plagued the country. As the political situation deteriorated, women once again found themselves caught between extremist forces and a government that could not protect their rights. The withdrawal of international forces in 2021 was the final blow, enabling the Taliban to reassert their control over Afghan society.

The Taliban’s morality laws, which mandate that women cover their faces in public, extend into broader, more oppressive restrictions that stifle women’s presence and voices. Beyond veiling, women are forbidden from singing or speaking out loud in public, further erasing them from Afghan society. These measures are not just about modesty but serve as powerful tools of control, marginalizing women and stripping them of their cultural and social identities. Once active and visible in society, Afghan women are now systematically silenced, as their autonomy and public roles are seen as threats to the Taliban’s ideological framework. This suppression reinforces a narrative of female invisibility, reversing decades of progress toward gender equality and profoundly destabilizing Afghan society.

             Graph 1:  Taliban’s control over women’s rights (2020-2024) 

Figure 1. illustrates the Taliban’s increasing control over various aspects of Afghan women’s rights from 2020 to 2024. It highlights the sharp rise in mobility restrictions, such as the enforcement of face-covering and limits on public presence, and the steep decline in employment rights, education rights, and participation in public life. 

Compounding these restrictions is the Taliban’s recent prohibition on Afghan women speaking in public forums, including at the United Nations. This measure, imposed by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, complements existing bans on women’s speech and activities in public spaces within Afghanistan.

This move goes beyond symbolic oppression, as it strips women of their voice in the global discourse on human rights. By preventing Afghan women from speaking on international platforms, the Taliban has made it clear that they are not only restricting their physical presence but also their intellectual and political participation. The erosion of women’s ability to advocate for themselves is further compounded by a growing culture of impunity, where their subjugation is sanctioned and upheld by the state’s legal framework.

The Taliban’s policies also target women’s access to education and employment. Girls are no longer allowed to attend secondary schools or universities, denying them the chance to learn and contribute to society. The ban on female education erased the progress made over the past two decades, during which Afghan women and girls had begun to take advantage of expanded educational opportunities. This rollback of women’s rights has resulted in a profound psychological toll on women, many of whom had enjoyed greater freedoms in the years preceding the Taliban’s takeover. 

Graph 2: Mental health decline of Afghan women under Taliban rule (2020-2024)

The impact of these restrictions cannot be viewed in isolation. The experience of Afghan women must be understood within the larger context of war and conflict. Since 1979, Afghanistan has been embroiled in decades of violence, which has taken a devastating toll on the population, particularly women. Conflict exacerbates existing structural inequalities, with women bearing the brunt of both war-related violence and patriarchy that often follows in its wake. In Afghanistan, the socio-cultural impact of the prolonged conflict has been felt acutely by women, who continue to face displacement, poverty, and the brutalization of their bodies and rights.

Global response to Women’s rights in Afghanistan

The international response to the situation in Afghanistan has been characterised by fierce condemnation without any concrete action. The international community has expressed outrage over the Taliban’s treatment of women, but there has been insufficient pressure on the regime to reverse its draconian laws. 

Global condemnation of the Taliban’s takeover in 2021 was rapid, with several countries and groups voicing their concerns. Women revealed that 87% of Afghan women have experienced gender-based violence, and by 2023, just 5% of women will be permitted to work outside the home, indicating a significant reversal. Thus, in Resolution 2593, the UN Security Council urged the Taliban to respect human rights, particularly those of women and girls. 

The Human Rights Watch has also emphasized the ineffectual global reaction, saying that despite promises of help and safety, international financing for women’s rights in Afghanistan substantially fell post-2021.

A minuscule part of the $4.4 billion offered in 2022 as humanitarian relief to Afghanistan went toward initiatives that considered gender equality. Furthermore, in 2022 and 2023, the UNHRC convened extraordinary sessions in which it demanded accountability for the conduct of the Taliban. However, Afghan women remain largely unprotected internationally due to the absence of legally binding sanctions or penalties on the Taliban. These discrepancies highlight the disconnect between international rhetoric and practical measures taken to alleviate the situation of Afghan women.

Graph 3: International Focus on Afghan Women Under Taliban Rule (UNSR 2593, UN OCHA, Human Rights Watch)

Humanitarian efforts must prioritize gender-sensitive responses, ensuring that Afghan women receive the support they need. Legal protections, safe shelters, and access to healthcare for survivors of violence are critical areas that must be addressed. Additionally, the international community must hold the Taliban accountable for its human rights violations, recognizing that the exclusion of women from public life will have far-reaching consequences for Afghanistan’s development and stability.

Afghan women face hardships that transcend Afghanistan’s borders. Many women who fled now grapple with challenges in exile, experiencing alienation, identity loss, and complex social dynamics. Young Afghan women resettling in regions like Europe often face marginalization from both host societies and their own communities. In some instances, women encounter sexual harassment from fellow Afghan refugees, revealing the gendered dimension of displacement. For these women, the lost autonomy in Afghanistan is compounded by new struggles in exile. Despite hopes for a better life, many face conditions that replicate the oppression they sought to escape, caught in a cycle of structural violence and inequality.

Conclusion: 

Despite well-documented resilience among Afghan women, there are still gaps in research on the long-term psychological impacts of conflict, particularly in rural areas where women’s voices remain underrepresented. The interplay of gender, poverty, and displacement also remains underexplored, especially after the Taliban’s resurgence. Additionally, most studies focus on urban women, often overlooking the severe challenges faced by women in Taliban-controlled areas.

A major shortfall in policy analysis is the lack of sustained international frameworks that prioritize Afghan women’s roles in peace and governance. While the Taliban’s actions against women have drawn international criticism, there is limited focus on establishing accountability or economic initiatives that empower women. This reveals a disconnect between on-the-ground realities and international advocacy, highlighting the need for consistent, impactful support and pressure. Furthermore, during Taliban rule, the importance of local governance in defending women’s rights has not received enough attention in policy research. There is a lot of talk about diplomatic and international sanctions, but not much attention is given to strengthening local government systems and civil society organizations that may serve as middlemen to protect women’s rights. Despite the Taliban’s prohibitions, current regulations frequently fail to recognize the importance of grassroots initiatives that strengthen community resilience and encourage women’s economic engagement. In difficult political times, bolstering these local networks in addition to foreign diplomatic initiatives may be a more successful strategy for defending and expanding women’s rights in Afghanistan. Without stronger global accountability frameworks and grassroots empowerment strategies, the exclusion of Afghan women from public life threatens the country’s long-term development and stability.

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