UNAMA, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, has stated that women and girls continue to face severe restrictions in the areas of health, employment, and participation in social life. In a statement released today (Wednesday, December 10) on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, UNAMA said that these restrictions weaken the fundamental rights of women and girls and undermine Afghanistan’s future. It added that limited access to health services makes families vulnerable and communities fragile. The mission further emphasized that the de facto authorities must align themselves with international human rights obligations. According to the statement, doing so is not only in line with global standards but also a practical path toward peace, resilience, and development for the country and its people. UNAMA also quoted Georgette Gagnon, Acting Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, as saying: “Human rights are not optional. They are a daily necessity for life.” Ms. Gagnon added: “In Afghanistan, ensuring that women and girls can learn, work, and participate fully is essential for improvement. We call on the authorities to take decisive steps to align with global obligations and to open space for Afghanistan and all its people to flourish.” Fiona Frazer, Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Afghanistan, also said: “Everyday needs such as education, health, livelihoods, and freedom are rights that must be available to all Afghans; yet many Afghans, especially women and girls, are deprived of these rights.” She stressed that human rights must be at the center of Afghanistan’s path forward, as these rights “serve as a bridge between survival and hope.” The United Nations added: “On this Human Rights Day, UNAMA calls on all stakeholders, beneficiaries, authorities, communities, and international partners to reaffirm their commitment to human rights as the foundation of efforts to improve conditions in Afghanistan.” It is worth noting that international organizations say the current authorities have been widely accused of human rights violations since their return to power in Afghanistan.

World leaders have pledged $1.9 billion at a meeting in Abu Dhabi to eradicate polio—an effort that will protect at least 370 million children from the disease. Media reports indicate that, amid declining global aid, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is projected to face a funding shortfall of $1.7 billion by 2029. This shortfall is largely due to reduced international contributions, a trend led by the United States, which is withdrawing from the World Health Organization. Other wealthy countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom, have also reduced their contributions. It is worth noting that Afghanistan and Pakistan are the two countries with the highest number of polio cases. Despite global efforts to eradicate polio worldwide, the virus has not been fully eliminated in some countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to available data, around 36 confirmed cases of polio were recorded in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2025. In response to this situation, partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative plan to place greater emphasis on surveillance and vaccination in areas with high transmission risks. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said that the new support pledged in Abu Dhabi is crucial to reaching all children affected by polio and stopping the spread of various strains of the virus worldwide. The meeting, organized by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund during Abu Dhabi Finance Week, reduced the funding gap for the polio eradication program for the years 2022 to 2029 to $440 million.

UN Women has recently announced that women-led organizations in Afghanistan may be forced to lay off up to 30 percent of their female staff due to funding cuts. In a post shared day (Monday, Dec 8) on its X account, UN Women wrote that women-led organizations are the backbone of Afghanistan’s support system for women and girls. UN Women in Afghanistan further emphasized that many of these organizations are now facing severe funding reductions. Referring to the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, the organization added: “We cannot afford to lose this frontline leadership.” Previously, UN Women had also stated that local women-led organizations in Afghanistan have lost about one-fifth of their funding. The organization further noted that following the collapse of previous support systems after the takeover by the caretaker government, millions of women now have nowhere to turn, and access to vital services has been severely restricted. This comes as UN Women for Afghanistan responded yesterday to the ban on female staff entering its offices and urged the caretaker government to lift the restriction so that assistance can reach women and girls.

UN Women for Afghanistan has responded to the ban on the entry of female staff into the organization’s offices and has called on the caretaker government to lift the restriction on women’s access to offices so that aid can reach women and girls. In a statement released today (Sunday, Dec 7), the organization said that three months have passed since the ban on female staff entering UN buildings across the country. During these 91 days, female employees have continued their vital work for the people of Afghanistan from their homes. Susan Ferguson, the UN Women Representative in Afghanistan, said that Afghan women and girls are essential to the work of the United Nations in the country, and that the organization can only access and assist women and girls through their presence. The UN official further emphasized that aid must be delivered by women and to women. She also stressed that she strongly opposes the restrictions, as they violate the fundamental principles of human rights and equality enshrined in the UN Charter and weaken the organization’s ability to carry out its mandate. She added: “We call for the lifting of the ban on Afghan female staff and contractors entering UN premises and for their safe access to offices and the field, so that assistance can reach the women and girls who need it most.” This comes as the current authorities banned women’s work in non-governmental organizations, including the United Nations, three years ago, while women’s employment in government offices was banned on the first day of their return to power. Despite this ban, women had continued working with UN agencies and some humanitarian organizations. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) announced in the month of Sunbula this year that government forces were preventing female staff from entering the organization’s offices. The organization also noted that following the ban on women’s access to offices, UN agencies, funds, and programs in Afghanistan have adjusted their operational plans and are currently assessing appropriate options for continuing their activities.

Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has recently warned that online harassment and abuse against women and girls is spreading at an alarming rate and could lead to real-world violence. In a message posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Mr. Guterres wrote that violence against women and girls must be stopped at all levels and called on countries to act in unity to put an end to this trend. In part of his message, he emphasized that hate speech in cyberspace can lead to violence in the real world. The UN Secretary-General also stressed the urgent need to seriously combat online hate speech and warned that the growth of digital violence could have serious social and security consequences. Meanwhile, online harassment of women has increased worldwide in recent years and has turned into a major social and security crisis. This warning by Antonio Guterres about the rise in online violence against women and girls comes as the current government, after taking control of Afghanistan, has deprived women and girls of education and schooling. In its latest restriction, it has closed the doors of medical institutes to girls and women, even though Afghanistan’s healthcare sector is facing a severe shortage of personnel. These actions by the current authorities have resulted in millions of schoolgirl students being deprived of education. In addition, women have been banned from going to sports clubs, restaurants, public bathhouses, being examined by male doctors, traveling without a male guardian (mahram), working in domestic and international non-governmental organizations, and even from working in United Nations offices in Afghanistan.

Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, has recently called for preventing the displacement of Hazaras from Nawabad Township in Ghazni province, which has been declared an “Emirate township” by the caretaker government. In a statement issued at the end of his visit to Qatar, Mr. Bennett said that this week he spoke with a group of Hazaras who have “lived for generations in an area of Ghazni city” and who are now at risk of losing their homes due to court decisions by the current authorities. He further emphasized that residents of Nawabad Township in Ghazni province have expressed concern over the unfairness of the judicial process and the fate of around 13,000 families if they are forced to leave their homes. In another part of his statement, the UN Special Rapporteur called for measures to prevent the displacement of these families and stressed the importance of observing fair trial standards and providing legal assistance to resolve the issue. This comes as about a month ago, the Ministry of Justice of the current government announced that a special government court had declared 1,843 jeribs of land in Nawabad Township, located in central Ghazni, as “Emirate property.” According to available information, the township was established 32 years ago, and approximately 18,000 families currently live there.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported that the number of “induced abortions” has increased in Afghanistan following the return of the caretaker government to power. In its report, AFP said it spoke with ten women in Afghanistan about abortion, but only five agreed to share their stories. The number of Afghan women resorting to dangerous home methods to terminate unwanted pregnancies—a practice that puts their lives at risk—is rising. Bahara (a pseudonym), a 35-year-old woman, told AFP: “When I was four months pregnant, I went to a hospital in Kabul to have an abortion, but the doctors told me they were not allowed to do it, and if anyone found out, they would be imprisoned.” She added that on the order of her “unemployed husband, who did not want a fifth daughter,” she used “a type of herbal tea” to terminate her pregnancy. She explained: “The bleeding became so severe that I was forced to go back to the hospital. I told the doctors that I had fallen, but they knew I was lying because there were no marks on my body. They became angry but did not report me to the authorities. They performed a procedure and removed the remaining tissue from my body.” It is worth noting that under Afghanistan’s constitution, abortion is illegal and is only permitted if the mother’s life is in serious danger. However, in practice, women are almost never granted permission for such procedures. Two international organizations working in Afghanistan’s health sector have also confirmed the rise in abortions in the country. Because abortion is a taboo in Afghanistan, it is often carried out using herbal medicines or pills that are sold illegally in pharmacies. In some cases, women are forced to lift heavy objects or their abdomen in order to terminate the pregnancy. Halima (a pseudonym) said she terminated her pregnancy by taking pills she had purchased from a pharmacy. Maryam (a pseudonym) also said she aborted her pregnancy by striking her stomach “with a stone.” A gynecology and obstetrics specialist in Kabul told AFP that before the return of the current government to power, they were able to perform more abortions with the help of some NGOs, but now doctors are afraid to carry out the procedure. He added that women are afraid to request abortions at hospitals: “Most women try to abort [their pregnancy] at home and then come to the hospital saying that they had a miscarriage.” Maryam (a pseudonym), 22, said that one month after becoming pregnant, her mother placed “a very heavy stone on her stomach” to terminate the pregnancy. This comes as Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the world.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has stated that Afghanistan is going through one of the most difficult periods in its contemporary history, with women, girls, and children bearing the heaviest burden of the humanitarian crisis. In a report, the organization said that millions of people have returned to Afghanistan without assets and with the hope of finding safety and a fresh start. However, returnees often face communities that themselves are struggling with poverty, unemployment, and a lack of basic services. UNDP further warned that most women, girls, and children enter Afghanistan without support, income, or access to safe shelter. According to part of the report, restrictions on movement, education, and employment severely limit the options available to returning women. The report also states that families are forced to make difficult decisions, and some girls are compelled to drop out of school or are pushed into early marriage. The organization cautioned that without urgent assistance, these families will face even deeper crises. Some families may be forced to migrate again, local tensions may increase, services may collapse, and the cycle of displacement may continue. UNDP added that, in collaboration with communities, it is working to support the rebuilding of family livelihoods through practical and people-centered assistance and to create the conditions for long-term recovery. The organization emphasized that this support includes three types of measures aimed at helping families rebuild their lives and cope with crises. UNDP also previously announced that the large-scale return of Afghans in recent months has placed immense pressure on host communities, leaving most families in extremely difficult conditions.

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.

UN Women has recently stated that women’s rights defenders in Afghanistan are exposed to significant personal risks. In a message shared on its X account on the occasion of the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” campaign, the agency wrote that women’s rights defenders in Afghanistan continue to organize and protect their communities, even though they often face serious personal dangers. UN Women described Afghan women and girls as courageous. The organization emphasized that it will continue to support women and girls in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Alliance of Human Rights Activists, marking the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women,” also stated that supporting women’s rights is a top priority in efforts to combat violence against women in Afghanistan. The organization stressed that Afghan women and girls have faced the harshest restrictions and silencing policies over the past four years. Furthermore, since taking control of Afghanistan, the current government has banned women and girls from education. Its latest restriction closed the doors of medical institutes to girls and women, even though the health sector across Afghanistan is facing a shortage of staff. This action by the current authorities has left millions of school-aged girls deprived of education. In addition, women have been banned from going to gyms, restaurants, public baths, being examined by male doctors, traveling without a mahram, and working in domestic and international NGOs, as well as UN offices in Afghanistan.