KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has warned that the Taliban’s ban on women’s employment could cost Afghanistan’s economy up to $1 billion over the next two years.
In a statement on Monday, UNDP highlighted the alarming decline in women’s participation in the labor force since the Taliban returned to power. Before their takeover, women made up 19% of Afghanistan’s workforce. That figure plummeted to 11% in 2022 and dropped further to just 6% in 2023, according to the UN agency.
UNDP stressed that Afghanistan’s socio-economic recovery depends on women’s active participation in the workforce and vowed to continue supporting initiatives aimed at creating employment opportunities for women.
In 2024, UNDP made an initial investment of $4 million, which later unlocked an additional $34 million in funding. This support helped almost 80,000 female-led micro and small businesses, which generated nearly 400,000 jobs, the majority of which were filled by women, according to the statement.
“As women become financially independent, they contribute to their families, creating a chain of prosperity that revitalizes communities and can potentially improve the lives of generations to come,” UNDP stated.
The UN agency also noted that Afghan women bear a disproportionate burden of the country’s ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis. They face increasing restrictions on their ability to participate in public life, secure employment, and access essential services.
Shortly after returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban imposed restrictions on women’s education and employment, including prohibiting them from working in the health sector or with international aid organizations. These measures, among many others, have effectively excluded women from public life.
The growing restrictions have sparked widespread condemnation from the international community. UN experts, legal scholars, and activists argue that the Taliban’s policies amount to a system of apartheid, designed to systematically oppress women and girls based solely on their gender.
Despite widespread calls for the Taliban to reverse these policies, the group has remained firm in its stance, deepening the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan.
