UN warns restrictions on Afghan women are cost to economy and humanitarian funding remains far short

Farhan, a United Nations spokesperson, relayed that the Secretary-General's Special Deputy Representative for Afghanistan reported severe and growing restrictions on Afghan women and girls that are already costing the Afghan economy and undermining long-term development.

The briefing cited UNICEF analysis showing impacts on education and labor participation and said OCHA and partners estimate the 2026 response needs $1.71 billion to reach 17.5 million people; to date only 15% of that requirement has been received, the spokesperson said, constraining humanitarian operations and response capacity.

The UN emphasized that restrictions on women and girls deepen the humanitarian crisis by reducing household resilience and economic participation, and urged sustained support from member states to fund the response. No new Security Council decision or binding measures were announced at the briefing.