WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES – UN Women reports that 90% of women and girls in Afghanistan describe their mental health as bad or very bad, with most observing that it is getting worse each quarter.
During her briefing to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, September 18, Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, said that 64% of women surveyed by the organization reported feeling unsafe leaving their homes alone, mainly due to Taliban harassment.
She said that their findings indicate that not only women suffer from this environment; men also feel less safe when accompanying women, leading to strained relationships and a deterioration of social trust and cohesion.
Regarding the Taliban’s new morality law, enacted last month, the UN Women chief said that the law sets a new low, surpassing what was previously thought to be the lowest point.
Life under Taliban rule was already extremely difficult for women and girls, and the regime’s new law recently approved by its supreme leader has worsened the situation, reminiscent of their first rule in Afghanistan.
The 35-article law mandates that women cover their entire bodies and faces outside the home, prohibits them from speaking in public, using public transportation alone, or looking at men who are not related by blood or marriage.
The UN Women chief said that the law not only segregates women from men but also isolates them from other women.
“In our surveys, only 22 percent of Afghan women report meeting with women outside their immediate family on a daily or weekly basis, while 18 percent never do,” she said.
Bahous said that the Taliban’s misogynistic policies undermine Afghanistan’s economic prospects as well, estimating a 5% annual loss in GDP due to the exclusion of women from the workforce.
She pointed out the potential implications of the Taliban’s extreme policies, emphasizing that they inspire other oppressive actors and armed groups around the world, who are closely watching how the global community responds.
“I assure you, if we give up on Afghan women, if we succumb to fatalism, let go of our principles, turn our faces, and remove our resources, the impact on our broader struggle for gender equality may be felt for decades,” she said.
The head of UN Women criticized the exclusion of Afghan women from discussions about Afghanistan, recommending that women and women’s rights be included in all future talks about the country.
Speaking at the meeting, Naseer Ahmad Faiq, Afghanistan’s chargé d’affaires at the UN, urged the international community to use all available legal mechanisms to hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes.
“We must act decisively, with unity and determination, to reverse this course of destruction and restore hope to the millions of Afghans who continue to suffer,” Mr. Faiq said.
“Let us not fail the people of Afghanistan. Let us not fail the generations that will follow. The Time to act is now,” he added.
