UN Women has recently announced that the rate of violence against women and girls in Afghanistan is rapidly rising, and millions of women and girls are in urgent need of support and protection.
The organization said in a report published day (Thursday, 27 November) that in less than two years, the number of women and girls facing serious risks has increased by 40 percent.
UN Women emphasized in part of its report that reduced financial assistance has forced the organization to limit essential services for addressing gender-based violence in Afghanistan.
The organization added that currently around 14 million women are in need of support services.
According to the UN Women report, women-led local organizations in Afghanistan have lost about one-fifth of their funding.
UN Women stated that with the collapse of previous support systems following the return to power of the de facto authorities, millions of women have nowhere to turn, and access to essential services has become severely restricted.
The report comes at a time when the current government, after taking control of Afghanistan, has barred women and girls from education and schooling. In its most recent restriction, it closed the doors of medical institutes to girls and women, even though the health sector across Afghanistan faces a shortage of personnel.
This action by the current authorities has prevented millions of school-age girls from continuing their education.
In addition, women have been banned from going to gyms, restaurants, public baths, receiving medical examinations from male doctors, traveling without a male guardian, and working in national and international NGOs, and even in United Nations offices in Afghanistan.
