The Cost of Marginalizing Women

The Cost of Marginalizing Women

On August 21, the Taliban published yet another draconian law intended to eliminate the presence of women and girls, and even their voices, from Afghanistan’s public sphere. This is obviously an egregious attack on the human rights of Afghan women. Less obvious is the strong negative impact on the country’s economy.

A joint statement issued on September 18 by eleven members of the United Nations Security Council, including the United States, notes that “Afghan women play an indispensable role in ensuring the prospect for a peaceful, stable, prosperous and inclusive Afghanistan, including the country’s long-term development.”

Indeed, according to the UN, exclusion of women from the workforce will annually cost the Afghan economy 5 per cent of gross domestic product annually. And if women continue to be denied access to higher education, by the year 2066, Afghanistan’s economy will have lost the equivalent of two thirds of today’s gross domestic product.

“This continued regression toward misogynistic authoritarianism is deeply troubling, and it comes in the context of increasing poverty and a weak economy,” said Dorothy Shea, Deputy U.S. Representative to the United Nations. “Afghanistan’s longstanding economic and social problems have been exacerbated by the Taliban’s increasingly restrictive policies.”

“The United States remains committed to addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people. And we have continued to support a policy of engaging with a wide range of Afghans, including the Taliban, on areas of mutual interest,” she said.

“The United States continues to see the UN’s role as central, both in coordinating assistance efforts and in facilitating international engagements with the Taliban and other Afghans,” said Ambassador Shea. However, the UN must not lose sight of Resolution 2721, which, among other issues, emphasizes the necessity of a political roadmap toward an Afghanistan that is at peace with its neighbors and “recognizes the need to ensure meaningful participation of Afghan women throughout the process.”

“This is clearly not the path the Taliban are currently on. With each new intolerant decree, they are moving away from the Afghan people and away from the international community,” she said.

“For our part,” said Ambassador Shea, “the United States has been clear in our engagements with the Taliban that meaningful steps toward normalization will be based on their own actions including respecting the rights of all Afghans; engaging in an inclusive process on the country’s political future; and fulfilling their counterterrorism commitments.”