UN experts are calling for the immediate reversal of Taliban policies that prevent Afghan women from working at or even entering United Nations offices as they warn that the ban is not only a violation of women’s rights but is also worsening Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.
According to UN experts, Afghan women, including UN staff, contractors, and visitors, have been barred from entering UN compounds since September 2025, with armed guards reportedly enforcing the policy at UN facility gates. The experts described the policy as a direct attack on women’s rights, particularly the right to work, and stated that there is no cultural, religious, or administrative justification for preventing women from carrying out their jobs.
This restriction is part of a broader pattern that has unfolded since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Over the past several years, women have been systematically pushed out of public life and removed from employment across government offices, non-governmental organizations, and many sectors of paid work. As a result, many women who were once the primary earners in their households have lost their incomes, which has pushed many families deeper into poverty and dependence.
UN experts emphasized that the consequences of banning women from UN workplaces are immediate and sever, not only for the women who lose their jobs but also for the millions of Afghans who rely on humanitarian assistance. In Afghan society, many women and girls can only receive aid from female staff. When women are banned from working these services cannot be delivered effectively, which means life saving aid operations are compromised and women and girls are often left in the dark without assistance.
The ban on women working within the UN demonstrates how restrictions on women’s employment are not only a matter of individual rights but also deeply worsen an existing humanitarian crisis. When women are prevented from working it sets off a chain reaction in which aid delivery systems weaken, household incomes collapse, and whole communities lose access to essential services. Regardless of constant restrictions, women have continued to serve their communities despite increasing restrictions, often working under immense pressure and personal risk, but the space for them to work safely and with dignity continues to shrink more and more as restrictions compound.
UN experts who are bringing this to light are now calling for a unified international response and sustained diplomatic pressure on the Taliban to reverse these policies as they warn that the UN cannot operate effectively or uphold its own principles if women are deliberately excluded from its work. They stressed in their report that standing with Afghan women, especially those working in humanitarian roles, is essential for protecting women’s rights and safeguarding Afghanistan’s future.
The ban on women’s employment has been dragging on for years, and it has had far reaching consequences that extend beyond individual jobs and the ability to go to work. It has robbed women of their ability to engage in public life, strips families of their income, and in turn weakens humanitarian operations, and further isolates Afghan women from the world and any semblance of normal life and basic human rights. As these restrictions continue to expand, Afghan women are not only being pushed out of their jobs, but out of the country’s economy, its humanitarian response, and its future.