March 29, 2024

Mental health crisis in Afghanistan grips women, girls

topic:	Women's rights
located:	Afghanistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

At this time of year, fresh spring blossoms of wildflowers fill the air in Kabul, Afghanistan, and everyday activities restart after a long, dark, and harsh winter.

For millions of women and girls, however, this spring will be the third of sorrow, restrictions and oppression under the Taliban regime. Schools and universities reopened in the country, but not for the girls. The same goes for dozens of other places and activities exclusively denied to women and girls simply based on their gender, making them feel inferior, stigmatised and alienated in society.

A report by a local media outlet in the country indicates 66 oppressive decrees and institutionalised restrictions imposed on women in the past three years.  It shows that 24 new restrictions have been imposed on women in the social and legal field, 24 restrictions just for women in the job market, and 18 added restrictions on girls in the educational fields.

Similarly, another relevant study on the matter indicates there is a hidden crisis brewing in the war-ravaged country. The new ground data from the research highlights the extent to which the Taliban’s edicts have instilled profound fear and psychological distress among Afghan women. 

Faced with multiple grim challenges like international isolation, poverty, climate change and an oppressive regime, the entire Afghan population has suffered since the Taliban takeover back in August 2021. For the female population, it is worse, with studies proving that the restrictions have resulted in the prevalence of depression symptoms as high as 80.4 per cent and the prevalence of mild to extremely severe anxiety as high as 81.0 per cent. 

Confined to the boundaries of home, women and girls are exposed to early and forced marriages and denial of an array of fundamental human rights, leading to desperate choices such as irregular migration and even suicides.  

This calls for concentrated efforts to address the root causes of the brewing mental health crisis among the female population in Afghanistan. Lifting the restrictions on education and the right to work have been among the fundamental demands of Afghan women. There is, however, also the need to embed mental health treatment provisions for women and girls to help them navigate through these tough times until a positive change is brought about. 

Spring and a new start shall bring hopes of equality to Afghan women and girls”

Image by M

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