UN urges support for Afghan women’s aid five years into Taliban rule

More than half of women’s organisations still operating in Afghanistan could cease operations within the next year, UN Women warns.Five years since the Taliban came to power, the United Nations has warned that funding issues mean more than half of women’s organisations still operating in Afghanistan could cease operations within the next year.Susan Ferguson, UN Women’s special representative in Afghanistan, appealed to donor countries on Friday not to cut funding for women’s programmes, saying to do so would only deepen the suffering of Afghan women.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Deadliest form of malnutrition has reached critical levels in Afghanistanlist 2 of 3UNESCO says 2.4 million Afghan girls denied access to further educationlist 3 of 3Nearly 4 million Afghan children ‘acutely malnourished’end of listMore than half of 74 women’s organisations surveyed in April are likely to have to suspend operations or close in the next year due to funding problems, Ferguson said.The UN’s $1.7bn humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan was only 25 percent funded, and nearly three-quarters of the women’s organisations had experienced funding cuts in 2025, while about two-thirds rep...