By Khanullah Mohammady
Since the political changes of 2021, discussions about women in Afghanistan have mainly focused on restrictions related to education, employment, and public life. However, another crisis gets less attention: the economic impact of excluding women from work, education and finance. For many Afghan families, women were not just dependents. They served as teachers, healthcare workers, civil servants, small business owners, and vital contributors to household survival. As restrictions on women’s employment and mobility have increased, households across Afghanistan have lost a key source of income and stability. International organizations increasingly warn that excluding women is not just a social issue, but also a significant barrier to Afghanistan’s economic recovery (UNDP). According to UN Women Afghanistan now has one of the largest workforce gender gaps globally. Only about one in four women is part of the labor market, while the participation rate among men is much higher.
The economic effects are clear in Afghan households. In a country already dealing with poverty, unemployment, and reliance on aid, the loss of women’s income has pushed many families into deeper financial trouble. Reports from the UNDP show that restrictions on women’s employment are increasing poverty and lowering the country’s productive capacity. The impact extends beyond individual households. Afghanistan’s economy depends heavily on human capital, yet women and girls face severe restrictions in education and professional development. UNICEF recently warned that Afghanistan could lose over 25,000 female teachers and health workers by 2030 if the current restrictions persist. The organization estimates that this could lead to an economic loss of about $84 million each year.
Women who remain economically active are increasingly pushed into informal and home-based work. Many now rely on tailoring, handicrafts, food production or small online businesses to support their families. But these activities often operate without legal protection, financial support or stable market access. A Reuters report on Afghan women entrepreneurs found that many female business owners struggle to access capital, while most rely on loans from relatives or friends rather than banks or formal financial institutions.
Financial exclusion has become another major challenge in Afghanistan, particularly for women. Even before the recent political and economic crises, Afghanistan had one of the lowest levels of financial inclusion in the world. According to the World Bank Global Findex Database, account ownership among adults remained extremely low, increasing only from 9 percent in 2011 to 10 percent in 2014 and 15 percent in 2017, before declining again to 10 percent in 2021. However, the gender disparity in financial inclusion has been even more severe throughout the years. In 2011, only 3 percent of women owned an account compared to 15 percent of men. In 2014, the figures stood at 4 percent for women and 16 percent for men, while in 2017 only 7 percent of women reported account ownership compared to 23 percent of men. By 2021, female account ownership had fallen again to just 5 percent, compared to 15 percent among men. These numbers show the structural barriers women face in accessing formal financial services.
International organizations have repeatedly warned that excluding women from economic life weakens Afghanistan’s long-term prospects for recovery and development. UNDP noted that restrictions on women’s rights directly affect economic productivity and may also undermine aid effectiveness and economic resilience. Afghanistan’s economic crisis cannot be separated from the exclusion of women. When women lose access to work, education and finance, households lose income, communities lose skilled professionals, and the country loses part of its economic future. Sustainable recovery will remain difficult as long as half of the population remains economically marginalized.
