The International Labour Organization (ILO) in Afghanistan said in a report that five years after the Taliban takeover, women’s participation in Afghanistan’s labour force has fallen to 5.1 percent.
The organization announced on Tuesday, August 18, that since the Taliban takeover, the gender gap in the labour market has widened and women have been severely excluded from economic activities.
According to the ILO report, employment in Afghanistan reached approximately 8.5 million people in 2026. However, this increase has occurred mainly among men, while women’s employment remains severely low.
According to the organization, Afghanistan has the second-lowest rate of women’s labour force participation in the world.
Tite Habiyakare, Senior Coordinator and Head of the ILO Office for Afghanistan, said: “Afghanistan cannot build a resilient and sustainable labour market while a large part of its population is excluded from economic activity.”
The report states that the large-scale return of people from Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan has also increased pressure on the labour market.
The ILO warned that rising energy prices and inflation resulting from the Middle East crisis could further intensify these pressures.
According to the report, more than 70 percent of Afghanistan’s workers are engaged in activities that are exposed to these pressures at least at a moderate level.
