Global Advocacy Groups Renew Calls for Urgent Action on Afghanistan’s Women Amid UN Warning of Service Cuts

Global Advocacy Groups Renew Calls for Urgent Action on Afghanistan’s Women Amid UN Warning of Service Cuts
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Rights organizations, Afghan activists, and diaspora communities are intensifying appeals for international intervention as reports continue to document systematic repression of women under Taliban rule amid UN warnings of service cuts for women due to funding shortfalls.

Women’s-rights advocates and Afghan diaspora networks are intensifying pressure on the international community to address what they describe as a deepening human-rights crisis facing women and girls in Afghanistan. Nearly four years after the Taliban regained power, rights groups warn that Afghan women remain subjected to some of the world’s most restrictive policies, affecting every aspect of public and private life.

According to Human Rights Watch, women face sweeping bans on secondary and higher education, severe limitations on employment, restrictions on movement, and the dismantling of legal protections and institutions designed to safeguard their rights. The organization also reports repeated cases of harassment, arbitrary detention, and intimidation of women’s-rights activists. Al Jazeera has similarly documented the escalation of constraints on women’s participation in public life, describing them as part of a systematic effort to erase women from social and political spaces.

Despite the risks, sporadic protests continue inside Afghanistan, often carried out quietly, in small groups, or through symbolic acts. In exile, however, Afghan women have taken their demonstrations to public arenas across Europe and beyond. According to Voice of America, activists living abroad have organized marches, artistic campaigns, and policy forums calling for international protection mechanisms. Research groups such as vidc.org note a growing transnational movement linking Afghan women with global feminist and human-rights networks.

In a recent joint statement, civil-society organizations described the situation as an unfolding humanitarian emergency. According to the Afghanistan Women’s News Agency, these groups are demanding global recognition of systemic gender-based oppression, urgent support for displaced Afghan women and girls in the region, and concrete diplomatic pressure on Taliban authorities.

As advocacy efforts intensify, analysts warn that Afghan women remain among the world’s most vulnerable populations. Rights observers argue that international actors must translate expressions of concern into practical measures to address the crisis and prevent further deterioration of women’s freedoms.

The UN says organisations supporting women in Afghanistan have lost major funding this year, leaving essential protection services strained as restrictions and violence intensify.

Meanwhile, UN Women warned that Afghanistan women’s organisations are facing a sharp funding shortfall even as gender-based violence rises under Taliban restrictions.

The warning came on Saturday as the agency marked the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.

The agency said women’s groups have received less than 60% of the money needed this year, forcing shelters and service providers to reduce operations despite higher demand for support.

Reports of violence against women have climbed by 40% in the past two years, while access to legal protection remains limited due to Taliban rules on movement, work and education.

UN Women urged donors to restore financial support, warning that further cuts could shut down life-saving services for women across Afghanistan.

Humanitarian agencies caution that without swift donor support, vital shelters, legal aid systems and psychosocial services could collapse, leaving vulnerable women with no safe options.