NAHR-E-SHAHI, Afghanistan, July 6, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Afghanistan needs the 
talents of both women and men to respond to major challenges as millions 
return to the country grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis, two UN 
officials said Monday.

Women have been excluded from many areas of public life since the Taliban 
authorities returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with limits on employment, 
education and leisure activities.

"You need all hands on deck, you need all the talents that are available, and 
that is male talent but also female talent," said Alexander De Croo, head of 
the United Nations Development Programme.

He made the remarks during a visit to a carpet weaving centre in northern 
Afghanistan's Nahr-e-shahi employing women who have recently returned to the 
country.

More than six million Afghans have had to return from Pakistan and Iran since 
September 2023, after their host countries tightened migration policies.

These mass returns to a country already scarred by decades of war pose major 
challenges in terms of housing, employment and access to healthcare.

De Croo called on the Afghan authorities to ensure "sufficient access to 
education, employment and entrepreneurship for girls and women".

The Taliban authorities have imposed multiple restrictions on women, barring 
them from studying beyond primary school, working in certain professions and 
going to parks.

Since September 2025, the Taliban government has also banned women from 
working in United Nations offices, a measure repeatedly condemned by the 
world body.

Barham Salih, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees who is also visiting 
Afghanistan, told AFP "that is for sure a major limitation on our ability to 
deliver for the people of Afghanistan."

Salih is due to meet with Taliban officials in Kabul in the coming days to 
urge them to lift the ban on women UN employees.

"Afghanistan deserves support, but for us to be able to do so, there needs to 
be collaboration and cooperation," he said.

"We must harness the potential of this society ... and that requires men, 
women, boys and girls be able to be mobilised to contribute to the future of 
their country."

Afghanistan's development "cannot happen without" women and girls, Salih 
said.

According to a UNICEF report issued in April, restrictions on women's 
education and employment cost Afghanistan at least $84 million every year.