Five years after the Taliban won, Afghanistan is still losing

A Nation in Crisis: Afghanistan’s Women Face Unprecedented Hardship Five Years After Taliban Victory

Healfromzero.com – Half a decade has passed since the dramatic collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s swift return to Kabul, yet the Central Asian nation continues to deteriorate into one of the most severe humanitarian catastrophes globally. While American taxpayers absorbed a staggering $2.3 trillion price tag for two decades of military engagement, Afghanistan has gradually faded from international headlines despite mounting crises that threaten millions of children with starvation and systematically dismantle women’s fundamental rights.

The Humanitarian Emergency Deepens

Approximately 45 percent of Afghanistan’s population requires humanitarian assistance, yet international donors have dramatically reduced their contributions since the Taliban reestablished control. The United States, formerly the largest single contributor to Afghan relief efforts, has fallen outside the top five donor nations entirely. This decline coincides with the Trump administration’s decision in early 2025 to terminate nearly all USAID humanitarian and development contracts, eliminating more than $1.7 billion in planned support.

Humanitarian funding for the country has plummeted by nearly 70 percent since 2022, creating cascading effects across service delivery networks. UN Women estimates that over 10.7 million Afghan women and girls rely on humanitarian assistance for basic survival. The consequences are already visible: more than half of women-led organizations recently surveyed by the United Nations anticipate closing or suspending operations within twelve months due to insufficient resources.

Gender Apartheid Takes Root

Experts have characterized the Taliban’s systematic removal of women from public life as “gender apartheid”—a term historically associated with institutionalized racial segregation. The regime’s policies have effectively erased half the population from society, transforming Afghanistan into one of the most dangerous environments for women worldwide.

Women face comprehensive restrictions across multiple domains. Most employment opportunities have been closed to them, public face coverings are now mandatory, and women cannot travel long distances without a male chaperone. UN Women data reveals that half of Afghan women now leave their homes only once or twice each month, creating profound isolation that experts link directly to a growing mental health emergency.

An Education Lost

Afghanistan stands alone globally as the only country prohibiting girls from attending school beyond sixth grade. This prohibition has existed long enough that an entire generation of adolescent girls has matured without ever entering a secondary school classroom. UNESCO estimates that 2.4 million girls remain excluded from formal education, a figure that threatens to create a lost generation with limited economic prospects and reduced civic participation.

Legal Changes Sanction Violence

Recent legislative decrees have fundamentally altered the legal landscape for Afghan women. In March, the Taliban issued a ruling permitting men to physically discipline their wives, provided the punishment does not result in broken bones or lasting visible wounds. Simultaneously, another decree significantly complicates women’s ability to initiate divorce proceedings while eliminating the previous minimum marriage age of sixteen years.

Human rights organizations including Amnesty International and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child have warned that these changes effectively legitimize child marriage, which has been steadily increasing since the Taliban regained control of the country.

Voices from Within

To be very blunt, it’s hell if you’re a woman in Afghanistan. And I don’t see the international community, I definitely don’t see this government – the Trump administration – doing anything, anything at all about it. If anything, they’re creating a bigger mess for the poor people of Afghanistan.

John Sopko, the former Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, delivered this assessment to CNN, highlighting both the severity of conditions and what he perceives as international indifference.

Within Kabul, Mahbouba Seraj—one of the few Afghan women activists who remained after the Taliban’s return—expressed growing frustration with the deteriorating situation. She told CNN that she is considering leaving the country because institutional barriers prevent her from effectively helping the women who need support.

I cannot continue working this way because I haven’t been any help to any one of the Afghan women that needed me. I haven’t been able to do it because nobody allows me to. And the women… all of their rights have been taken away from them. And if anybody says anything about it, we are wrong. We are not supposed to say it, but this is exactly what has happened.

The Mental Health Toll

The cumulative effect of these restrictions has created a silent crisis. Seven in ten women now describe their mental health as either “bad” or “very bad,” according to UN Women. This statistic reflects not only the psychological burden of confinement and diminished autonomy but also the compounded stress of economic uncertainty and limited access to healthcare services.

One organization operating in northern Afghanistan, requesting anonymity, told CNN that it now functions on a “limited scale” with its continued operations “at serious risk.” Northern provinces, which historically served as important agricultural and trade corridors, face particular challenges as aid reductions intersect with seasonal food insecurity and limited infrastructure.

Looking Forward

The convergence of man-made policies and natural disasters has pushed millions of Afghan children toward starvation, while women and girls bear disproportionate consequences. With humanitarian assistance at historic lows and legal protections eroding, Afghanistan faces an uncertain future where the most vulnerable populations risk being left behind entirely.

The international community’s response—or lack thereof—will determine whether these trends represent a temporary setback or a permanent transformation of Afghan society. For millions of women and children, the stakes could not be higher.