Taliban s suppression of women s rights in Afghanistan will result in $920 mn loss by 2026: UNDP warns

KABUL, May 1: Addressing the suppression of women’s rights in Afghanistan by the Taliban regime, the United Nations Development Programme has said that these restrictions will lead to a loss of approximately $920 million by 2026. The forecast highlights the worsening economic crisis Afghanistan is experiencing due to these repressive measures.
According to Khaama News, the UNDP emphasised on Wednesday that the crisis is exacerbating social inequalities, particularly the deteriorating situation for women. As restrictions on women’s rights by the Taliban continue, many fear the negative long-term impacts on the country’s socio-economic stability.
Afghanistan’s economy while having recovered somewhat is still in an incredibly dire situation, remaining heavily dependent on imports and international aid.
This dependency is making the country increasingly vulnerable to external shocks and internal policies that limit economic growth and development.
The international community’s demands on the Taliban regime regarding women’s rights has only worsened the economic state, as organisations have reduced their aid to the country, leading to devastating consequences for the Afghan populace.
The UNDP also has warned of a deepening socio-economic crisis with widening inequalities. The UN body reported that a vast majority of the population is subsistence-insecure and that humanitarian needs remain immense. Funding shortfalls for aid further exacerbate the crisis.
The report further claimed that over 90% of Afghan households are facing the loss of productive assets, livelihood sources, jobs, and income opportunities. As a result, many families have been forced to cut back on their daily consumption to survive.
The Taliban rule has led to a sharp decline in the country’s economy and increased restrictions on women, which has prompted warnings from international organisations regarding the impact on Afghanistan’s future stability and development.
The UNDP’s report underscores the urgent need for international support to address the deepening economic crisis in Afghanistan. Without significant interventions, the country may face a prolonged period of instability, particularly for its most vulnerable populations, including women and children.
According to Human Rights Watch, in a 2024 report, the Taliban ordered a crackdown on women’s employment in the private sector, including ordering the closure of all beauty salons at a cost of 60,000 women’s jobs.
In Afghanistan’s increasingly gender-segregated society, if women workers are not there to deliver aid to women, they are required to go without aid. Beyond blocking basic access to food at risk, even the chance to walk in a park, play a sport, or enjoy nature is stripped away from Afghanistan’s women and girls.
Women who protest these violations face terrible consequences including enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and torture. From threats, beatings, and abusive conditions both during detainment and release, the Taliban continue to commit severe abuses against an ongoing-and underreported-string of women’s rights defenders. More recently they have also begun widespread detaining of women and girls on accusations that they were not wearing “proper hijab.”
Afghanistan today faces a constant flow of new restrictions against women and girls-and the Taliban are nowhere near done with their dystopian project, the HRW says.
(UNI)

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