KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A United Nations legal review has concluded that 16 measures imposed by the Taliban since August 2021 constitute systemic discrimination against women and girls, violating Afghanistan’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
The 52-page report, published jointly by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN Women, examines each Taliban directive and law against specific articles of the treaty. Afghanistan ratified CEDAW in 2003 and remains bound by it regardless of the ruling authority.
The review examines policies enacted between 2021 and 2025, including bans on girls’ secondary and higher education, restrictions on women attending medical training institutes, limits on female civil servants returning to work, and prohibitions on women working with NGOs or the UN.
It also covers the closure of women’s beauty salons, requirements for male guardians during travel, mandatory hijab rules including face coverings, and the 2024 Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which enforces dress codes, voice concealment, and restrictions on women’s use of public transport.
The report highlights education bans as particularly severe violations, describing education as a “gateway right” whose denial leads to broader harms in employment, economic independence, healthcare access, and participation in public life.
It highlights the ban on women and girls in medical institutes for its potential long-term impact on public health, warning that the resulting shortage of female health professionals could restrict women’s access to care, especially reproductive and maternal services, and increase risks such as maternal mortality, in violation of CEDAW Article 12.
Restrictions on movement, employment, and public participation—including directives on hijab, voice concealment, and mandatory male accompaniment—are described as violations of freedom of movement, freedom of expression, and obligations to eliminate discriminatory customs and stereotypes.
The review concludes that the 16 policies together form a “system of institutionalized discrimination,” with restrictions in one area reinforcing others across political, economic, social, and cultural life. All measures are deemed consistent violations of core CEDAW principles, including non-discrimination, equality before the law, and the obligation of states to eliminate discriminatory practices.
OHCHR and UN Women present the review as a neutral legal tool to support accountability, without offering policy recommendations.
The Taliban authorities have not responded to the report. They have previously defended their measures as consistent with their interpretation of Islamic law and accused international critics of bias against Islam.
The findings come amid growing international concern over the shrinking opportunities for women and girls in Afghanistan, as access to education, employment, and healthcare remains severely restricted under Taliban rule. UN experts and human rights groups warn that such policies undermine decades of progress in women’s rights and constitute “crimes against humanity” under international law.
