UNDP: 73% of Afghan women face travel restrictions without male escort

The United Nations Development Programme has published a report on the resilience of women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan, stating that 73% of Afghan women face travel restrictions without a mahram or male escort.

The detailed report by the United Nations Development Programme, titled “Listening to Afghanistan’s Women Entrepreneurs; Their Resilience and Struggle,” was released on Thursday.

This report is based on interviews with 3,100 women and group discussions.

The organization noted that 73 women interviewed said that without a male family member, they could not even go to local markets in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

According to the organization, requiring women to travel with a male family member places an additional burden on women and doubles travel costs for women entrepreneurs.

The report states that women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan face numerous obstacles, including discrimination, operational restrictions, and a severely weak financial system.

The UNDP wrote that the restrictions on women’s mobility exacerbate the challenges women entrepreneurs face.

According to the report, in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where 15.8 million people need humanitarian aid and women’s employment has halved to 6%, entrepreneurship has emerged as a lifeline.

The UN has reported that according to their discussions, 80 women-led companies rely on their businesses as their sole source of income and have created job opportunities for other women.

Over the past nearly three years, the Taliban have imposed extensive restrictions on women in various areas, including education, work, and travel.