Afghanistan: Only 5% of labor market are women under Taliban
The International Labour Organization estimates that only 5.1% of workers in Afghanistan are women, five years after the Taliban's return to power. That's less than a third of the proportion in 2019 and 2020.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) recently released a report highlighting the severe exclusion of women from the labor market in Afghanistan, where only 5.1% of the population is engaged in work, according to figures from 2026. This alarming statistic represents a drastic decline from previous years, with the share of women in the workforce falling to around one worker in every 20 since the Taliban's return to power in 2021.
The ILO emphasized the urgent need to address this exclusion, stating that it is crucial for bolstering the Afghan economy's resilience. The organization noted significant demographic and institutional changes in the labor market since 2021, many of which have disproportionately affected women. Tite Habiyakare, the senior coordinator and head of the ILO office for Afghanistan, highlighted the continued disadvantage faced by women in the current labor landscape.
The report underscored that Afghanistan's labor market remains under considerable pressure, having only moderately recovered from a significant downturn following the Taliban's takeover, which coincided with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a modest increase in employment numbers in absolute terms, the labor force participation rate has remained flat at just under one-third of the population, failing to keep pace with population growth.
The influx of over 6 million Afghans returning from neighboring countries, primarily driven by policy, economic, and security factors, has added to the labor market challenges. These returns are expected to further reduce remittance inflows to the Afghan economy, potentially halving their influence from 4% of GDP in 2020 to 2% by 2025.
Additionally, the Middle East crisis and the ongoing war in Iran have introduced further uncertainties, impacting inflation, food prices, fuel costs, and trade and transport disruptions. The ILO warned that these factors disproportionately affect poorer households and reduce real earnings, particularly among informal workers, with around 70% of workers exposed to crisis-related factors, with a significant portion facing substantial exposure.
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