UN Women Says Conflict, Curbs Deepen Crisis for Women in Afghanistan

UN Women says this year was already harsh for Afghanistan’s women, but worsening conflict with Pakistan has made conditions even worse. The agency said many civilian casualties in the recent violence were women and children, underscoring the growing toll on families already facing severe hardship.

According to the agency, more than 64,000 people in eastern Afghanistan have been affected, with more than half of them women and girls. Many women have been displaced several times within a year because of fighting and earthquakes, leaving them without shelter, clean water, healthcare and safety during flight.

UN Women said women on the move face risks of violence and abuse, legal uncertainty, and worsening access to services and livelihoods. It added that rising prices are hitting families harder, especially households headed by women, while aid programmes for women are operating with a funding gap of around 50%.

The agency also warned that more than 10.7 million women and girls in Afghanistan now need humanitarian assistance. It said only 14% of women have access to essential justice services, compared with 53% of men, highlighting the scale of inequality facing women under the current system.

Afghanistan’s girls remain barred from secondary school and university, while women face sweeping limits on employment, mobility and public life. These restrictions have sharply reduced women’s access to education, income and basic independence, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.

The current conflict with Pakistan has added another layer of instability to an already fragile environment. Reuters has reported that the latest cross-border fighting and airstrikes have caused heavy casualties and intensified fear and displacement in Afghanistan.

UN Women urged the international community not to treat the situation of Afghanistan’s women as normal, saying sustained global attention and support are essential to changing conditions on the ground. Its warning reflects growing concern that crisis, discrimination and violence are becoming more deeply entrenched.

For Afghanistan’s women, the overlap of conflict, displacement, education bans, job restrictions and aid shortfalls has created a severe and worsening emergency. As insecurity rises and resources shrink, rights groups say women and girls are being pushed even further to the margins of the society in Afghanistan.

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