BROOKLYN, New York — Afghanistan’s economy continues to decline, and experts say the cause extends beyond sanctions or conflict. By restricting Afghan women from schools, jobs and digital access, the Taliban is eroding the country’s economic foundation. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), “Afghanistan stands to lose up to $9.6 billion in GDP by 2066 due to the suspension of women’s higher education.” The Taliban’s restrictions on women’s education and employment have erased decades of progress toward gender equality and are now driving the country deeper into poverty.
Impact of War in Afghanistan & Foreign Aid Inflows Since 2001
The economic crisis facing Afghanistan today is a part of the long shadow of the post-2001 war and the country’s extreme dependence on foreign aid. Per the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), between 2001 and 2025, Afghanistan received some of the largest aid flows in the world — including about $148 billion in U.S. assistance through reconstruction, security and development efforts and roughly $77 billion in broader international development assistance during 2001–2019, according to the Australian Parliamentary Library.
These inflows initially funded education, health services, infrastructure and governance, to help expand opportunities for women and youth. However, a report by French news outlet Le Monde highlights that aid began declining after the drawdown of foreign forces around 2012 and dropped sharply after the Taliban’s return in 2021, with the suspension of U.S. civilian aid leading to the closure of hundreds of health facilities. While the EU continues limited humanitarian support — including €161 million in 2025, per the European Commission — total aid today is a fraction of its wartime peak.
This volatility has left Afghanistan’s already fragile economy deeply exposed. As foreign-funded institutions contract, the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s education and employment compound the damage, erasing much of the progress that external aid once helped build.
Education Bans and Economic Loss
Since December 2022, more than 100,000 Afghan women have been banned from university enrollment, according to UNESCO. The report estimates the education ban could cost the economy $9.6 billion by 2066 and reduce household income by roughly $1,100 per year for every woman excluded from the workforce.
Pashtana Durrani, founder of LEARN Afghanistan, an NGO focusing on providing education to Afghan women and children through digital platforms, said the economic impact extends far beyond classrooms. “When women are barred from education, you are cutting off half the country’s potential workforce,” Durrani said. “Without educated women, families lose income streams, and the entire economy shrinks.”
UNESCO projects the country could lose more than 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030, worsening its long-term labor shortage.
Work Restrictions and Household Poverty
A Human Rights Watch report from 2022 confirmed that women have been barred from most employment in government, NGOs and the private sector, with the report stating, “only those working in primary education were still able to work…”
Durrani said such limits are stifling economic diversity. “When you confine women to just a handful of roles, you choke innovation,” she said. “Afghanistan doesn’t just need nurses and teachers—it needs engineers, coders, businesswomen, and leaders.”
According to World Bank estimates, women’s formal labor participation dropped from 16% in 2020 to just 5% in 2024. The UNDP Socio-Economic Review 2025 found that 88% of female-headed households in Afghanistan are now subsistence-insecure, compared with 74% of male-headed ones.
“Most men’s jobs pay barely enough for survival,” Durrani said. “Women’s work has always been the invisible backbone of family survival—removing it pushes families into crisis.”
Adaptation and Resistance
Despite bans and restrictions on women, Afghan women continue to find alternative ways to learn and work. Durrani said underground schools, radio lessons, and SIM-based education platforms are keeping girls connected. “Women-led businesses are operating quietly and creatively,” she said.
According to the UNDP’s 2025 Review, the economic exclusion of women could cost Afghanistan $920 million between 2024 and 2026, roughly 5.8% of its GDP.
“My hope,” Durrani said, “is that Afghan women have the recognition as central to the country’s survival and future prosperity. Women are not a side note—they are half the economy, half the leadership, half the resilience.”
– Matt Irwin
Matt Irwin is based in Brooklyn, NY, USA and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Flickr