Afghanistan’s Women Face Deepening Repression as World Falls Silent

Türk accused Afghanistan’s de facto authorities of steadily tightening oppressive restrictions, with women and girls facing the harshest consequences.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has warned that life in Afghanistan is becoming increasingly difficult as poverty spreads, basic freedoms disappear, and hundreds of thousands of people are forced to return to a country struggling to meet their most essential needs.

Türk accused Afghanistan's de facto authorities of steadily tightening oppressive restrictions, with women and girls facing the harshest consequences. He said the international community's silence has left millions of Afghans feeling forgotten at a time when their rights, safety and future are under growing pressure.

Women and girls pushed out of public life

Women and girls remain severely restricted from education, employment, travel and participation in public life, while strict clothing rules continue to shape their daily movements. Women have been excluded from public decision-making bodies, leaving them without a voice in policies that directly affect their families, health, education and livelihoods.

Around 2.2 million Afghan girls and women have been denied secondary and higher education since 2021. Restrictions introduced a year ago also prevent Afghan women, including UN employees, contractors and visitors, from entering United Nations premises across the country, creating further obstacles for humanitarian work and women's participation.

New decrees issued this year have made it harder for women to separate from their spouses and, according to the UN human rights office, implicitly permit child marriage and violence against women and children. Türk described the systematic exclusion of women and girls as an institutionalised human rights violation and said the restrictions amount to "gender apartheid."

Arrests, punishment and censorship spread fear

The de facto "Office for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" has arrested Afghan women and men over alleged violations involving clothing, beard length and the playing or listening to music. At least 449 people were subjected to corporal punishment during the first half of the year, reflecting the growing use of physical penalties to enforce social rules.

Human rights violations involving former government officials and former members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces continue to be recorded. Religious minorities, including Shi'a and Ismaili communities, also face restrictions that limit their rights and place them at greater risk.

Journalists and media organisations work under intense censorship, with authorities prohibiting content they consider contrary to Afghan culture or official regulations. Media workers continue to face arrest, while some outlets have been temporarily closed, narrowing the space for independent reporting and making it harder for Afghans to share what is happening inside the country.

Forced returns deepen an already severe crisis

More than 400,000 Afghans have been forcibly returned, mainly from Iran and Pakistan, according to the UN refugee agency. Smaller numbers have been sent back from Türkiye, Tajikistan and other countries, while several European Union Member States have increased coordination with Afghanistan's de facto authorities concerning returns.

Many returnees are being sent to a country they may never have previously visited, where employment, education, healthcare, clean water and sufficient food can be difficult to secure. An estimated 21.9 million people, representing about 45 per cent of Afghanistan's population, now require humanitarian assistance, while declining foreign aid is placing further strain on families and relief services.

Türk urged governments to reconsider forced returns and place the safety of vulnerable people first. He also called on influential countries in the region to defend the equality and dignity of all Afghans, stressing that fundamental human rights must be protected regardless of where people live.