UN: 42% of Afghan Women Led Households Go to Bed Hungry

Photo: ©Ali Khara/Reuters

UN Women said in a new report that women and girls in Afghanistan are facing a worsening humanitarian crisis. The organisation identified Taliban restrictions, poverty, climate crises and cuts in humanitarian funding as factors intensifying the situation.

The report, titled “Gender Alert on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan 2025”, was published by UN Women in Afghanistan and the Afghanistan Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group.

According to the report, around 21.9 million people in Afghanistan will require humanitarian assistance in 2026, including more than 10.7 million women and girls.

UN Women said Taliban restrictions on women’s movement, education and work have reduced their access to humanitarian assistance and healthcare services and limited their income generating opportunities.

According to the organisation, these restrictions have made women led households more vulnerable.

The report states that widows and women led households face higher levels of poverty, hunger, displacement and security risks compared with male led households.

According to the report, 41 percent of women led households experienced periods without food at home in the past month due to lack of resources, and 42 percent went to bed hungry.

The report says economic pressure and food insecurity have forced some families into child labour, withdrawing children from school, begging and child marriage.

According to the findings, 4 percent of women led households had married off their daughters at an early age, while the figure for male led households was 1 percent.

UN Women also said that more than half of school age girls in Afghanistan are deprived of education. According to the report, 58 percent of school age girls are out of school, compared with 27 percent of boys.

The report added that women’s access to healthcare services has also been affected. According to the findings, restrictions on female healthcare workers, the closure of women’s medical training centres and funding cuts have weakened Afghanistan’s healthcare system, and 167 health centres were closed in 2025 alone.

UN Women called for strengthening gender responsive humanitarian assistance, supporting women led households and ensuring safe access for women and girls to healthcare, education, employment opportunities and humanitarian aid.