On April 30, 2025, Rukhshana Media, a women-led Afghan news outlet, reported the heartbreaking death of a young woman in Taywara district, Ghor province. She is believed to have set herself on fire in an attempt to escape a forced marriage. The Taliban’s local authorities have not issued any statement on the case. Human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the alarming rise in suicides among Afghan women, linking it to the severe and ever-expanding restrictions that have pushed women and girls out of nearly all public spaces in the country.
Since the Taliban regained control in August 2021, they have systematically dismantled women’s rights. Over the past three years, bans have spread across every aspect of women’s lives—from education and employment to freedom of movement and participation in society. Even when the world assumed the situation for women could not get worse, new decrees have continued to strip away what few rights remained. On May 1, 2025, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed that the Taliban had been enforcing orders designed to remove women from public life and further restrict their mobility. Reports received by UNAMA show women being barred from jobs, denied access to services without a male guardian, and girls still locked out of schools.
These restrictions have deeply damaged the mental and emotional health of Afghan women and girls. In 2022, former Afghan Parliament deputy speaker Fawzia Koofi told the UN Human Rights Council that hopelessness and psychological strain were driving suicides: “Every day, one or two women take their own lives because of lost opportunities, mental distress, and unbearable pressure.” A UN Women survey published in 2024, based on 2023 interviews, found that 68% of respondents knew at least one woman or girl struggling with anxiety or depression, and 8% knew someone who had attempted suicide. Advocates say the situation has only worsened since. Mursalina Amin, founder of Girls Toward Leadership, described the reality: “Even mentioning it brings them to tears. They are trapped—no schooling, no freedom, no voice. Every dream they had is gone. They can’t even put into words what they feel. Every Afghan girl I’ve spoken to has mental health struggles, but they remain silent.”
Accurate reporting on the crisis is extremely difficult. International media face entry bans, and Afghan news organizations operate under heavy censorship. Reporters Without Borders has documented rules that forbid covering protests, airing music, publishing images of living beings, or criticizing Taliban policies. Political debate is banned, and women have been prohibited from working as journalists. This information blackout hides the true extent of the suffering endured by Afghan women and girls.
Access to help—both inside and outside Afghanistan—remains minimal. The gender-based oppression fueling this mental health emergency will not fade away if ignored; silence will only make it worse and cost more lives. Even those who have fled to Pakistan face new dangers, as mass deportations of Afghan refugees have accelerated. In April 2025, Pakistan began returning tens of thousands of Afghans, with between 700 and 800 families sent back each day. Up to two million people are expected to be expelled in the coming months. With few countries offering asylum, options for escape remain grim.
