On Sunday, August 10, 2025, a United Nations report cast a harsh spotlight on Afghanistan, revealing that dozens of Afghan women working for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) received explicit death threats in May. The threats, which came from unidentified individuals, have prompted the UN to take immediate action to safeguard its female staff, underlining the mounting risks women face in the country since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
According to the BBC and multiple international news agencies, the UN said these death threats were directly linked to the women’s work with UNAMA and other humanitarian agencies. The UN’s report marks the first official confirmation of such threats against Afghan women in the international aid sector. In response, the organization implemented interim measures to protect the safety of its staff, though the specifics of these measures remain confidential for security reasons.
The Taliban, who have governed Afghanistan since their takeover in 2021, have denied any involvement in the threats. In communications with the UN mission, Taliban representatives insisted their personnel were not behind the intimidation campaign and that the Interior Ministry had launched an investigation into the matter. However, the Interior Ministry’s spokesman, Abdul Mateen Qani, flatly rejected the UN’s claims. “This is completely incorrect,” Qani told The Associated Press. “The ministry has an independent department for this, and we have a strategic plan for protection and security so there is no threat to them in any area, nor can anyone threaten them, nor is there any threat to them.” Qani did not respond to further questions about the investigation, according to AP.
The ambiguity around the investigation’s progress and the Taliban’s repeated denials have left many observers skeptical about the prospects for real accountability. Afghan authorities, including the Interior Ministry, have not publicly commented on the investigation’s status or provided concrete updates, fueling further concern about the safety of women working for the UN and other aid organizations in Afghanistan.
The threats against UN staff are not occurring in a vacuum. Since December 2022, the Taliban have systematically barred Afghan women from working at both domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs), extending this ban to the UN itself six months later. The Taliban then threatened to shut down any agency or group that continued to employ women. Humanitarian agencies have accused the Taliban of hampering or interfering with their operations, although the authorities have denied these allegations.
The UN report also painted a broader picture of pervasive restrictions on women’s personal freedoms and safety. In Herat, for example, inspectors from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice began enforcing a strict dress code, requiring women to wear a chador—a full-body cloak covering the head. Dozens of women deemed “not in compliance” were barred from entering markets or using public transportation. Several were detained until relatives could bring them a chador, as described in the report.
The situation in Uruzgan province has been equally dire. Women there have been arrested for wearing a hijab, a headscarf, instead of a burqa. In Ghor province, police forced several families to leave a recreational area, warning them not to visit outdoor picnic sites with women. In Herat, Vice and Virtue inspectors stopped family groups with women and girls from accessing an open recreational area, only allowing all-male groups to enter. These incidents, which the UN said happened in May, highlight the daily obstacles Afghan women face simply to appear in public.
Perhaps most tellingly, the UN report noted a new requirement in Kandahar: female health care workers must be accompanied to work by a male guardian (mahram) who carries an identification card proving a blood or marital relationship. The process for obtaining this card is reportedly cumbersome, taking up to several weeks and requiring verification from both the Department for the Propagation of Virtue and a local community leader, such as a malik, imam, or village elder. It remains unclear whether this policy is unique to Kandahar or will be implemented nationwide, but the message is clear: the barriers to women’s participation in public life are multiplying.
Restrictions on women’s movement and work are not the only areas of concern. The UN’s August 2024 report found that Afghanistan’s Taliban government has “deliberately deprived” at least 1.4 million girls of their right to an education during its three years in power. Since the last UNESCO count in April 2023, an additional 300,000 girls have been excluded from school, prompting warnings that “the future of an entire generation is now in jeopardy.”
The international community has not remained silent. In July 2025, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for two top Taliban leaders—Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhunzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani—on charges of gender-based persecution. ICC judges stated there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect both men of committing abuses against women and girls. “While the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms,” the court said in a statement. The Taliban, for their part, have dismissed the ICC warrants as “baseless rhetoric” and said they do not recognize the court’s authority, arguing that the ICC has failed to address atrocities elsewhere, including in Gaza.
The Taliban’s crackdown on women’s rights has drawn condemnation from human rights groups, Western governments, and Afghan advocates, but the group remains unyielding. For the women at the center of this latest crisis—those working for the UN and other humanitarian agencies—the risks are not only professional but existential. The death threats, coupled with the daily reality of surveillance, arrest, and exclusion, have created an environment where even the most basic freedoms are under siege.
Despite the dire circumstances, humanitarian agencies continue to operate, albeit under immense pressure and with significant constraints. The UN’s decision to confirm the threats publicly signals both an urgent call for international attention and a plea for concrete action to protect Afghan women still striving to serve their communities. As the investigation into the death threats drags on, the world is left to wonder whether the promises of protection will be honored—or whether Afghan women will remain, quite literally, in the crosshairs.
The situation in Afghanistan serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of women’s rights in conflict zones and the high price paid by those who dare to defy the odds. For now, the fate of Afghan women working for the UN hangs in the balance, their courage standing in sharp contrast to the uncertainty—and danger—that defines their daily lives.
