Report Warns of Escalating Restrictions on Women in Afghanistan in 2025

Report Warns of Escalating Restrictions on Women in Afghanistan in 2025
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A new report by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says Afghanistan in 2025 has seen a sharp escalation in policies restricting women’s rights, with the Taliban issuing at least 470 formal and informal decrees targeting women and girls across public and private life.

According to the report, these measures have severely eroded women’s rights, barring girls from education from the primary level onward and closing universities to female students. Women have also been removed from most public and private sector jobs and face strict limitations on movement, including bans on travel and public presence without a male guardian.

The study highlights a significant decline in access to justice for women, falling by 17.5 percent compared with 2017. It reports that more than half of women aged 15 to 49 have experienced sexual violence at least once, with rates rising to as high as 92 percent in some rural areas, alongside arrests and abuse linked to dress and conduct rules.

Beyond human rights, the report notes major economic consequences. Since 2023, households headed by women have lost about 40 percent of their income, while the ban on women’s work has reduced Afghanistan’s GDP by at least five percent annually. Rural women’s agricultural incomes have fallen by up to 80 percent in some provinces.

The report also documents a rise in child marriage, with early marriages among girls aged 12 to 15 increasing by 40 percent in 2024. It warns that continued policies risk erasing women from public life and urges stronger international action to address the crisis.