UN Women in Afghanistan has announced that women and girls with disabilities in the country face serious barriers and are being “overlooked” by both families and society.
On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the agency wrote in a statement posted on its X account: “According to United Nations estimates, women are 20 percent more likely than men to report living with a disability, and nearly one in six women has a severe disability.”
The statement emphasizes the “urgent and often overlooked needs of women and girls with disabilities” in Afghanistan.
Susan Ferguson, UN Women’s Special Representative in Afghanistan, further stressed that women and girls with disabilities in Afghanistan face the harshest discrimination and the greatest barriers in accessing the support and services necessary to live with dignity.
She added that the increase in the number of women with disabilities in Afghanistan is attributed to factors such as growing barriers to access health services and humanitarian assistance, increased risks of gender-based violence, and the deep psychological impacts of restrictions on their rights.
UN Women stated: “While nearly half of Afghanistan’s population will need humanitarian assistance in 2025, many women and girls with disabilities face difficulties reaching aid distribution centers.”
The agency also said that based on a survey of more than 2,000 women conducted this year, three-quarters of them described their mental health condition as “bad” or “very bad.”
UN Women further emphasized in part of its statement the urgent need for immediate investment in support and services for women and girls with disabilities in Afghanistan, and called for expanded humanitarian services to meet their needs.
Meanwhile, UNAMA has said that around 1.5 million people in Afghanistan live with serious disabilities, many of which are the consequences of decades of war.
The organization added that children with disabilities bear the heaviest burden of war-related disabilities.
