The United Nations Security Council’s report on Afghanistan presents a glaring picture of the social and political-economic situation in Afghanistan. The monopoly of power enjoyed by Hibatullah Akhundzada diminishes the possibility of regular institutional politics where public consent and accountability prevail. Women, religious and ethnic minorities and freedom of expression have been the victims of the Taliban’s repressive policies. Under the garb of religious obligation, women have been systematically barred from public spaces.
According to the Afghanistan Gender Index 2024 published by UN-Women, eight out of ten Afghan women are excluded from education, employment, and vocational training, placing Afghanistan among the world’s worst performers on gender equality. The erasure of women from the public sphere not only robs them of their right to education and employment, given to them by their religion, but also entails huge ramifications for the Afghan economy. In 2022, UNDP estimated that denying women access to the workforce could cost Afghanistan as much as USD 1 billion a year, or about 5 per cent of its GDP.
Ethnic minorities like the Tajiks and Uzbeks are also subjected to discriminatory policies. Quoting the budget crisis as the reason, the Taliban have dismissed thousands of their Tajik and Uzbek fighters, particularly in provinces with large Tajik and Uzbek populations. Resultantly, the Pashtuns now dominate the military and administrative domains, pushing the Tajiks and Uzbeks to the periphery. The discriminatory policies not only threaten ethnic diversity but also put sectarian pluralism at stake.
The religious institutions have been strictly ordered to follow the Hanafi Deobandi school, while the Shia, Salafi and Tablighi perspectives have been removed from the curricula. Furthermore, Salafi and Shia clerics face intensified surveillance, arrests and restrictions, reflecting the regime’s broader aim of consolidating ideological authority.
The stability of the entire South Asian region hinges on the stability and order in Afghanistan, which cannot be achieved unless public welfare is prioritised and an all-inclusive policy is adopted.
Freedom of the press has also plummeted, with various news outlets closed and journalists arrested. As per the reports, Shamshad TV and Radio were suspended by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence on Hibatullah’s direct orders in October 2025, after failing to back the Taliban’s narrative during Pakistani air strikes. Various senior officials have also been either detained or forced into exile for not complying with Akhudzada’s repressive policies, particularly the ban on girls’ education. Prominent cases include Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, former Deputy Foreign Minister, who criticised the ban as “contrary to Islamic law” and was forced to leave the country.
Similarly, Abdul Sami Ghaznawi, a religious scholar, was detained for advocating girls’ education, while Dr Farouq Azam faced charges after calling for female medical professionals to assist earthquake victims. Moreover, despite announcing general amnesty, the Taliban regime has reportedly committed 23 arbitrary detentions and 6 extrajudicial killings of former officials and security personnel between January and March 2025. The policy of extrajudicial killings and detentions not only aims to seek vengeance but also acts as a deterrent to any possibility of dissent in the future.
In a nutshell, the increasingly narrowing space for women, ethnic minorities, political dissent and pluralism raises grave concerns. The stability of the entire South Asian region hinges on the stability and order in Afghanistan, which cannot be achieved unless public welfare is prioritised and an all-inclusive policy is adopted.