Four years after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the scale and severity of the women’s rights crisis continues to intensify. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are prohibited to attend secondary school.

Yet, in a nationwide door-to-door survey of over 2,000 Afghans, more than nine in 10 supported girls’ right to learn.

“It is clear: Despite the existing bans, the Afghan people want their daughters to exercise their right to education,” said Sofia Calltorp, UN Women’s Chief of Humanitarian Action, at a press conference in Geneva on Friday.

'Education is the difference'

A protracted humanitarian crisis continues in Afghanistan coupled with systemic and institutionalised restrictions on women and girls’ rights.

Ms. Calltorp insisted that it is more important than ever to continue investing in Afghan women’s community organizations, which offer healthcare, mental health support and a chance to connect.

“In a country where half the population lives in poverty, education is the difference between despair and possibility,” she said, voicing their yearning to be back in a school environment.

“This is almost always the first thing girls tell us – they are desperate to learn and just want the chance to gain an education,” said UN Women’s Special Representative in Afghanistan, Susan Ferguson.

A year after the introduction of a stricter so-called morality law codified a sweeping set of restrictions, the new alert highlights the deepening normalisation of the women’s rights crisis.

NGO work ban

The Taliban’s ban on women working for NGOs – announced nearly three years ago – continues to have a devastating impact, said UN Women.

More than half of NGOs in Afghanistan report that it has affected their ability to reach women and girls with vital services.

A UN Women survey conducted in July and August found that 97 per cent of Afghan women said it had negatively impacted them.