A future without women: Consequences of gender apartheid in Afghanistan

July 16, 2025
Fatima Yousofi

A grim scenario in which half the population cannot fulfill their potential

In Afghanistan, women have become subjected to institutionalized gender apartheid. Since the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, Afghan women have been confined to their homes and erased from the public sphere, employment, and education.

This is the result of the Taliban’s deliberate policies and overall authoritarian structure, which has been exacerbated by regional and international institutions. The lack of male solidarity and the blunder of international organizations, which have been largely ineffective, only compound the crisis.
The silencing of women is one of the main tools of control. If the current gender apartheid continues to take hold, it will transform Afghan society through long-term and systemic social, political, and economic implications.
Socio-cultural and psychological consequences
Social life will be fractured if women are further forced to live in silence. Eventually, girls will be deprived of role models, families who counted on women’s leadership or earnings will lose both, and stark patriarchy will be perpetuated. Communities lose resilience, diversity, and inventiveness when half of them are ostracized. Morality and cultural development crumble along with the population loss.
Since girls under the Taliban rule are taught to be subordinate to men, they are more likely to experience early marriages or be forced to marry, in most cases, to Taliban members. The Taliban leaders have exhibited acquisitive behavior toward women by proactively seeking to marry second or third wives.
A significant number of Afghan women have constrained choices when it comes to choosing their marriage partners, while one-third of them fall victim to forced marriages. Henceforth, Afghan women are largely experiencing depression, domestic violence, and even suicide because many cannot say “no,” or they become inconspicuous and fade away. In addition, men are now encouraged to wed several wives, which disrupts the social structure and normalizes the acceptability of polygamy. Under these circumstances, many boys will develop a sense of entitlement to dominate women, and that male dominance will likely persist, even if the Taliban are ousted from power.
Economic and political consequences
The economic costs of this gender imbalance are already catastrophic. In 2022, UNDP estimated that denying women access to the workforce could cost Afghanistan as much as USD 1 billion a year, or about 5 percent of its GDP. Almost 8 out of 10 Afghan Women are now banned from pursuing education, training, and employment.
Lost economic productivity has both short and long-term ramifications for a nation already struggling with severe humanitarian issues. Educated working women not only make a living but also contribute to the development of the entire country. They support the service, agriculture, education, and public health sectors. Afghanistan cannot rebuild, recover, and compete in the international economy if it continues to bar women from socio-economic contribution.
Regardless of extensive condemnation, including from UN General Assembly resolutions and EU sanctions, the global response to gender apartheid has been largely symbolic. Sanctions have targeted individual Taliban leaders, but no substantive legal mechanisms have been employed to hold the regime accountable. The UN Security Council remains divided.
Additionally, Afghan women have been excluded from diplomatic discussions and international forums, including the most recent UN-sponsored gathering in Doha, where no Afghan women participated in any official capacity.
The political exclusion of women from civil society and government results in unbalanced and non-representative national decision-making. In addition to being excluded from the political process, women are deprived of their right to decide the destiny of the country. It isolates Afghanistan, leading to greater reliance on foreign aid and brain drain in the domestic economy.
Challenges and pathways forward
The institutional suppression and marginalization of women ravage the existing opportunities, resulting in rising poverty, mental trauma, and instability. Henceforth, combating this mayhem needs to be addressed equally with international involvement and domestic reformation.
Domestically, Afghanistan needs functioning specialized units and independent organizations within the government structure to enable women to fulfill their personal and professional potential. The structures should include the departments for healthcare, education, legal and political awareness, and economic empowerment.
Notably, they need to be able to resist the limitations, instability, and cultural resistance by ensuring, supporting, and advocating for gender equality in Afghanistan.
In the meantime, the international community is obliged to offer realistic assistance that allows Afghan women to actively participate in their country’s political and economic life. In this regard, the microcredit program of Bangladesh for women’s empowerment could serve as a highly suitable model for implementation in Afghanistan.
Amidst the restrictions for women, there are still small and diverse pockets of resistance. They come in the form of free online courses, mentoring programs, distribution of educational materials, miniature home industries, local women’s organizations, and covert schools. Examples include the University of the People, FutureLearn, and the initiatives led by the Afghanistan Law & Political Science Association and the Herat Online School, which provides college-level education.
Despite functioning in secret, they still offer hope and resilience. Virtual skills acquisition, mobile banking, and online learning could offer women access to education and economic empowerment. The fractioned opportunities are, nevertheless, greatly impeded by the Taliban’s surveillance, digital exclusion, and illiteracy.
Internationally, along with diplomatic pressure and sanctions against the Taliban regime mounting, Afghanistan threatens to become isolated. However, the aim is to hold the leaders accountable, not exacerbate the humanitarian crisis by halting foreign aid. Some international donors condition their aid on women’s rights. Keeping in mind the devastating poverty rate in Afghanistan, it wouldn’t be a fair option, as the vast majority of women depend on foreign aid.
To avoid school closures, a possible solution could be hybrid learning programs, which combine community study groups with online learning. Such hybrid programs would be particularly useful for girls in remote areas and should ensure easy internet access and devices that are optimized for education and connectivity. A solution for this could be the Starlink free internet initiative.
Platforms for innovative women should be provided to use and transfer their skills, sell crafts, and get paid. If successful, these programs can show how creativity and local determination can bring change.
The women in urban and rural Afghanistan are extremely diverse, and solutions must be tailored, taking into account these differences. Henceforth, the experience and knowledge of Afghan women from various ethnic, regional, and social backgrounds should be acknowledged and studied to become the starting point for a promising future.
Afghan women’s organizations and local voices must be heard throughout the process for genuine and sustainable progress. The process needs sound coordination, culturally sensitive steps, and persistent effort. It won’t happen overnight, but if implemented correctly, it will incrementally build steady progress. Afghanistan will start to end gender apartheid and construct a future where women are fully integrated into society.