Afghanistan marks five years under Taliban rule as UN warns of women's aid crisis
Five years after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, women face over 100 restrictive decrees, a ban on secondary education, and a humanitarian appeal funded at only 25 per cent.
Five years of Taliban rule
Afghanistan marked five years since the Taliban regained control on 15 August 2021, when the group launched an offensive as US and NATO troops withdrew after two decades of war. The withdrawal led to chaotic scenes at Kabul's airport. Bright white flags of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan were installed across Kabul this week, with new murals declaring "Independence is a sign of dignity, pride and identity." The Taliban also hosted a cricket match as part of celebrations, though women and girls were barred from attending.
Some Kabul residents said they feel safer after decades of conflict. Mohammad Qasim, 30, reflected on the anniversary against a backdrop of economic hardship.
Thank God, the past five years have passed in safety. Our wish and hope from the government is to create job opportunities for the youth.
The UN has acknowledged that the country has become more stable since the takeover, but warned that lasting stability is not possible unless the Taliban lift restrictions on women and girls.
- Taliban regain control of Afghanistan as US and NATO troops withdraw after 20 years of war
- UN Women surveys 74 women's organisations in Afghanistan on funding
- UN warns over half of women's organisations could close within a year; 56 countries issue joint statement
- Taliban marks five years since returning to power
Restrictions on women and girls
The Taliban initially pledged to protect women's rights but soon banned girls and women from secondary school and higher education. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are officially banned from secondary and higher education. A Unicef report cited by the BBC states that around 2.6 million girls are unable to attend school beyond Grade 6. The Taliban has imposed more than 100 decrees restricting women's rights since returning to power, according to UN Women's special representative Susan Ferguson, affecting education, employment, freedom of movement, healthcare and access to justice. The Irish Times cites more than 160 decrees targeting women and girls. Recent rules require women to ask men to take their products to market, and only men can sit at stalls at trade fairs.
The Taliban's foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, was questioned by the BBC about the constraints women face.
Women are not totally restricted on all walks of life.
- Women: bad/very bad mental health
- 70 %
- Women: lives worse than expected
- 65 %
- Men: lives worse than expected
- 55 %
- Humanitarian appeal funded
- 25 %
Survey data and mental health
Ferguson said more than half of 3,200 women surveyed by UN Women now leave their homes only once or twice a month, and seven in 10 described their mental health as bad or very bad. A UN Women report based on surveys of about 5,000 Afghans found that 65 per cent of women and 55 per cent of men reported their lives were worse than expected before August 2021. Men cited frustration with economic opportunities, while women also blamed reduced access to education and rules restricting their jobs and lives.
Shakiba told the BBC that 15 August, when the government fell, was the worst and most painful day of her life. Her goal of becoming a pilot feels impossible, though she finished secondary education online. Ela from Kabul said people are overwhelmed by poverty and daily hardships, with survival becoming the priority.
Aid funding crisis
The UN's $1.7 billion humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan was only 25 per cent funded, Ferguson said on Friday. Nearly three-quarters of 74 women's organisations surveyed in April had experienced funding cuts in 2025, and about two-thirds reported having six months or less of operational funding remaining. More than half of those organisations are likely to suspend operations or close within the next year. Ferguson appealed to donor countries not to cut funding for women's programmes. The UN warns that 22 million Afghans, nearly half the population, rely on some form of foreign assistance. On Friday, a group of 56 countries including Britain, France, Germany, Japan, the United States and the United Arab Emirates issued a joint statement at the UN renewing calls on the Taliban to reverse restrictions on women and girls.
Life on the ground
In Kabul, Sima, who believes she is about 60, searches cemeteries for plastic, scrap and anything of value to support her extended family. Begging and collecting waste have been prohibited by the Taliban, and those caught can be detained. Her daughter Diba was detained while begging and held for three months; two days after her release, her breastfeeding baby died. Najia, a 47-year-old entrepreneur and mother of nine, runs a jam-making workshop south of Kabul, one of the rare spaces where women can still gain skills and employment.
The world has to talk to the Taliban in a different way because it's just not working. The lives of Afghan women have to change because we're losing hope.
