Only 5% of Afghan Women in Labor Force Under Taliban, ILO Says
Afghan women's labor force participation has fallen to 5.1% in 2026 from 16.5% in 2020, the ILO says, amid Taliban restrictions on work and education.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) reported that only 5.1% of women in Afghanistan were part of the labor force in 2026, making it the second-lowest rate in the world. The Taliban's return to power in August 2021 coincided with a significant decline in female labor participation, which fell from 16.5% in 2020 to the current rate.
Young women, classified as not in education, employment, or training (NEETs), constituted 84% of the cohort, up from 76% in 2020 and 68% in 2019. In contrast, male NEET rates remained below 30%.
The report highlighted the severe restrictions women face in accessing education and employment opportunities, calling for urgent action to address their exclusion from the workforce. This exclusion is further exacerbated by the return of large numbers of Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan, which has strained the already fragile labor market. The influx of returnees is expected to reduce remittance contributions to the Afghan economy by half, posing additional economic challenges.
Despite some growth in women-owned businesses, the overall labor market remains under pressure, with Afghanistan's GDP contracting by about 15% since the Taliban takeover. Employment has increased, but not rapidly enough to match population growth. As a result, the share of the population in employment has remained stagnant at just under one-third. The ILO emphasized the need for improved labor market data collection and cautioned that its estimates are subject to uncertainty.
Written by urgent.news from Tempo.co English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
