Afghanistan

Protection Issues

Afghanistan remains a major protection crisis. Protection risks have been exacerbated by rights-related restrictions imposed by the Taliban de facto authorities (DfA), recurrent climate-related disasters, and ongoing displacement, including the return of more than 5 million people since 2023. At the same time, protection systems have been significantly weakened. Nearly 15 million people are in urgent need of protection services, and protection risks have deepened across 32 out of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.  Of the country’s 401 districts, 231 are classified as having high-severity protection needs, including 176 districts at severity level 3 (critical) and 55 districts at level 4 (extreme). Women and girls continue to face severe protection risks, including violence, restrictions on freedom of movement, harassment and intimidation, family violence, child marriage, and other harmful practices. Systemic restrictions on women’s and girl’s movement, education, employment, and participation in public life continue to increase their exposure to gender-based violence, psychosocial distress, and harmful coping mechanisms. The continued ban on girls’ secondary education further limits opportunities for women and girls and contributes to negative coping strategies, including child labour. Children also face heightened risks of violence, family separation, and exploitation. More than 10 per cent of children in need live with one or more forms of disability. Meanwhile, an estimated 6.3 million people remain in protracted displacement, and approximately 191,500 people living in nearly 600 informal settlements are at high risk of eviction. Afghanistan also remains one of the countries most contaminated by explosive ordnance (EO) after more than four decades of conflict. EO contamination is among the most acute protection risks, causing an average of 50 deaths and injuries each month. Children are disproportionately affected, accounting for seven out of every ten casualties, while returnees are also at heightened risk.