Report on the Women’s Rights Crisis in Afghanistan and its Impact on Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

Four years after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan is experiencing one of the most severe women’s rights crises globally. This report outlines how systemic and institutionalized gender-based restrictions are exacerbating a protracted humanitarian crisis and critically undermining progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The normalization of this crisis not only erodes the rights of 21 million women and girls but also jeopardizes the nation’s future development and economic stability.

Direct Contravention of SDG 5: Gender Equality

The situation in Afghanistan represents a profound regression for SDG 5, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The core tenets of this goal are being systematically violated.

• Erosion of Fundamental Rights: The institutionalized discrimination directly contravenes Target 5.1, which calls for an end to all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
• Exclusion from Public Life: Restrictions preventing women from participating in political, economic, and public life are a direct violation of Target 5.5, which seeks to ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership.
• Systemic Disempowerment: The multitude of decrees and restrictions actively disempowers women, reversing decades of progress toward gender equality.

Impediments to Broader Sustainable Development

The crisis extends beyond gender equality, creating significant barriers to achieving other critical SDGs.

• SDG 1 (No Poverty) & SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): By excluding half the population from the workforce and public economic life, the current policies are stalling economic growth and exacerbating poverty, directly hindering progress on SDG 1 and SDG 8.
• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): The gendered restrictions represent an extreme form of inequality, deepening societal divisions and working against the principles of SDG 10.
• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): The efforts of Afghan women to build an inclusive future are being suppressed, undermining the goal of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, as outlined in SDG 16.

UN Women Assessment and Path Forward

UN Women has analyzed the crisis and proposed a strategic response to address the ongoing violations and their impact on sustainable development.

1. Identification of Core Issues: An overview has been compiled detailing ten key issues that form the basis of the women’s rights crisis.
2. Analysis of Normalization: The analysis illustrates how these issues contribute to the international normalization of severe restrictions on women and girls.
3. Priority Actions: Four priority actions have been outlined to guide the international community’s response in the coming years.
4. Alignment with SDGs: These actions are essential to mitigate the humanitarian impact and create pathways to realign Afghanistan with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a primary focus on restoring the fundamental rights and dignity of its female population.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article highlights a severe crisis in women’s rights in Afghanistan, which directly connects to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focused on equality, economic prosperity, and just societies. The following SDGs are most relevant:

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  This is the most central SDG addressed. The article’s entire focus is on the “most extreme” and “most severe women’s rights crisis in the world,” detailing “systemic and institutionalised gendered restrictions” that directly oppose the goal of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  The article explicitly states that the crisis is “stalling economic growth.” By severely restricting 21 million women, the Taliban regime is preventing half of the population from participating in the economy, which undermines the goal of achieving productive employment and decent work for all.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  The situation described is a profound example of inequality. The “systemic and institutionalised gendered restrictions” create and enforce extreme inequality between men and women, directly contradicting the aim of SDG 10 to reduce inequality within and among countries.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  The article points to a breakdown of just and inclusive institutions. The “Taliban rule” has institutionalized discrimination against women, which is the antithesis of promoting the rule of law, ensuring equal access to justice, and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the issues discussed, several specific SDG targets are being severely undermined:

1. Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.

   The article’s description of “systemic and institutionalised gendered restrictions” and the overall “women’s rights crisis” is a direct reference to the widespread and official discrimination that this target aims to eliminate.

2. Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

   The article notes that “Afghan women continue to lead efforts to build an inclusive future,” which implies they are currently excluded from formal decision-making processes. The restrictions prevent their participation in public, economic, and political life, making this target unattainable under the current regime.

3. Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men… and equal pay for work of equal value.

   The restrictions on women directly prevent them from seeking or maintaining employment. The statement that the crisis is “stalling economic growth” is a direct consequence of excluding half the potential workforce, making full and productive employment for women impossible.

4. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of… sex…

   The article describes the exact opposite of this target. The policies of the Taliban are designed to ensure the social, economic, and political exclusion of women, thereby increasing, rather than reducing, inequality.

5. Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.

   The institutionalized restrictions mean that the decision-making processes in Afghanistan are not inclusive or representative of the female population. The efforts by women to “build an inclusive future” are taking place outside of a system that has completely excluded them.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article does not provide specific quantitative data but strongly implies several qualitative and quantitative indicators that can be used to measure the regression from these targets:

• Indicator for Target 5.1: Existence of a legal framework to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex.

  The article implies a negative status for this indicator. The mention of “systemic and institutionalised gendered restrictions” serves as a direct measure of a legal and political framework that actively enforces discrimination, rather than one that prevents it.

• Indicator for Target 5.5: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments and local governments (Indicator 5.5.1) and Proportion of women in managerial positions (Indicator 5.5.2).

  While no numbers are given, the context of the “Taliban takeover” and the severe restrictions on women in public life strongly imply that these proportions are at or near zero, providing a clear measure of the lack of progress.

• Indicator for Target 8.5: Unemployment rate, by sex (Indicator 8.5.2).

  The statement about “stalling economic growth” and the exclusion of women from public life imply a drastically high unemployment rate for women, which would be a key indicator of the economic impact of the restrictions.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: asiapacific.unwomen.org