Afghan women, once leaders in education, healthcare and civil society, are now systematically erased from public life under a regime enforcing gender apartheid.
This story is punctuated with quotes from a young Afghan girl living in Kabul who spoke to Ms. for this piece. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2021, she was denied the right to work and movement. Through her family’s support, she was able to begin an online master’s degree, which she continues to pursue from Kabul.
Hopelessness echoes from their [Afghan women’s] voices.
A young woman in Kabul
In 2021, Afghanistan ranked 156th out of 156 countries on the Global Gender Gap Report, marking it as the worst-performing nation in closing the gender gap. This dismal trend continued in 2022 and 2023. By 2024, Afghanistan was omitted from the report due to the lack of accessible data, reflecting the growing opacity surrounding Afghan women’s conditions.
Afghan women, who endured decades of conflict while fighting for their rights, now face an even harsher reality following the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in August 2021. Today, women are systematically excluded from education, employment and public life, and the country stands alone as the only nation where girls above sixth grade are barred from attending school. By April 2023, an estimated 80 percent of school-aged girls and young women—including 1.1 million secondary school-age girls—were out of school. University doors remain closed, and in December 2024, the Taliban imposed yet another ban: barring women from studying nursing and midwifery, devastating the lives of young women, pregnant mothers and newborns.
This erasure of women from public and educational spaces represents an unprecedented assault on gender equity and human rights, amounting to gender apartheid.
With every restriction on Afghan women, not only women but also men and families were shocked and affected.
Two Decades of Progress Dismantled
Over the past 20 years, Afghanistan witnessed remarkable progress in education and women’s empowerment, even if mostly in the urban and suburban areas. Millions of girls enrolled in schools for the first time, and female literacy rates significantly improved. By 2020, women made up nearly 50 percent of all university students, and Afghan women emerged as doctors, engineers, educators and leaders in civil society. These gains not only empowered Afghan women but also strengthened the nation’s social and economic fabric.
Today, an entire generation of girls is being denied the chance to learn, grow and contribute to their communities. This reversal of progress is a tragic loss for Afghanistan and a powerful reminder of how swiftly hard-won rights can be taken away.
It is ironic that the authorities allow women to sell ‘Bic’ pens or gum on the streets to earn a few bucks for their poor families, yet they deny them the right to education. Selling requires courage, but doing so in a male-dominated society demands an even greater strength.
Once active contributors to healthcare, education, law, business and the arts, women in Afghanistan are being sidelined from every sector of society and are now almost invisible. Female professionals are losing their jobs, their rights and their voices, punished solely for existing in spaces meant to empower them. Public policies suppress their presence—including journalists silenced for speaking out, doctors being barred from practicing and treating women, and women not being treated by men doctors—leaving them cornered in a system designed to enforce isolation.
The Ripple Effects: Economic and Societal Costs
Afghanistan’s exclusion of women from education and the workforce is projected to cost its economy $9.6 billion by 2066, or two-thirds of its current GDP. This devastating loss underscores the systemic dismantling of productivity and potential. Women, vital to innovation and economic resilience, are being denied access to education and employment, crippling progress in critical sectors like healthcare and engineering.
In the past, you could escape from family tensions by turning to society. Now, both family and society have become prisons, leaving us trapped between the two.
The economic fallout ripples through families, with the loss of women’s incomes exacerbating poverty and inequality. This exclusion stifles entrepreneurship and deepens Afghanistan’s reliance on international aid, perpetuating a cycle of stagnation. These restrictions have also fueled a rise in child marriages as families seek to reduce financial burdens or protect daughters in a restrictive environment. These marriages perpetuate poverty and deprive girls of futures, further entrenching inequality.
The psychological toll on Afghan women is profound. Deprived of opportunities, many face hopelessness and despair, weakening community resilience. The erasure of women from public life also damages Afghanistan’s societal cohesion and global standing, leaving the nation more isolated and vulnerable.
These policies not only harm women but threaten Afghanistan’s long-term stability, deepening economic and social fractures for generations.
United Against Gender Apartheid: Key Areas for Global Action
The plight of Afghan women calls for a unified global response. The international community must not remain silent in the face of injustice. Afghan women have fought alone for too long—it’s time for human rights activists, organizations and governments to stand with them.
1. Accountability and advocacy: Global actors must continuously call out the oppression of Afghan women and hold Afghanistan’s current authorities accountable for their actions.
2. Collaboration: Governments, NGOs and international organizations must unite to apply sustained pressure on the Taliban’s regime and support grassroots efforts in Afghanistan. Global programs must remain accessible to Afghan women, ensuring continued engagement and support despite the challenges.
3. Data collection: Reliable data is critical to understanding the scale of the crisis and implementing effective interventions.
4. Funding: Financial support is crucial to address education and economic gaps. It will enable sustainable programs that promote education, create economic opportunities and build resilience for Afghan women.
Beyond Fragmentation
Hope for Afghan women may seem dim, but solidarity, action and advocacy can pave the way for a more equitable future. Addressing the growing opacity of their conditions demands global collaboration to uphold their basic human rights.
We must remember: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Despite being trapped “between two prisons,” their homes and society, Afghan women continue to fight back, and they deserve global support—especially from the U.S. This fight cannot be won by Afghan women alone. The world must unite against gender oppression and apartheid in Afghanistan to champion equality and justice for all—in Afghanistan and around the world.
