Gender equality

With just five years left to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new United Nations report has warned that the world is “alarmingly off-track” on gender equality, placing millions of women and girls at risk of being left behind.

While male participation in the labour market remained largely steady, dipping only slightly from 48.1 million to 48.0 million, female participation plunged more markedly – from 25.3 million in 2023 to 23.7 million in 2024.

The crisis has been compounded by the rise of hardline Islamist groups since the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s long rule. Women’s rights activists warn that these groups are contributing to an atmosphere of communalism and hostility towards women, exacerbating their vulnerability.

ndia has witnessed a near doubling of its women’s employment rate between 2017-18 and 2023-24 – rising from 22 per cent to 40.3 per cent, according to recent data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey.

The global human rights watchdog said that Afghanistan now faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, exacerbated by donor governments’ aid cuts and the return of 1.9 million refugees expelled from Iran and Pakistan. 

Beyond gender, structural reform discussions aim to shift from a unicameral legislature to a bicameral one – a vision that most parties accept in principle.

The text called for adherence to Afghanistan’s obligations under international law, including human rights and humanitarian principles.

Meanwhile, the de facto authorities have conveyed grievances around frozen assets, sanctions, non-recognition, the need for greater development assistance, and an end to aid dependency.