Afghan women and girls have been effectively removed from public life under Taliban rule, UN agencies said on August 12, 2026, five years after the group took power in Afghanistan.
Taliban authorities have issued more than 100 decrees curtailing women's rights since seizing control, according to United Nations News. Those decrees block access to education, bar women from most employment, and restrict their freedom to move about freely.
UN agencies said the situation has been compounded by deep reductions in aid reaching the country. The combination of restrictive governance and shrinking humanitarian support has left women and girls systematically cut off from public participation, the agencies found.