Voices from the Margins: Lived Realities of Rural Afghan Women

Voices from the Margins: Lived Realities of Rural Afghan Women

Women in rural Afghanistan are facing an unprecedented crisis spanning humanitarian needs, development setbacks, and protection failures, yet their stories often fail to make headlines. Recent research from 802 surveys and 82 interviews across twelve rural provinces in the country’s east, southeast, and southwest reveals a rapidly deteriorating environment shaped by systemic restrictions, collapsing public services, and decades of neglect and underinvestment in essential infrastructure. The cumulative effect is a profound erosion of women’s rights, wellbeing, long-standing inequalities, and access to public services. Without immediate, targeted, and sustained intervention, an entire generation of Afghan women risks being left behind.

Yet despite these overwhelming challenges, women’s voices demonstrate remarkable resilience and clarity. Their priorities are clear: food, healthcare, safety, clean water, livelihoods, education, legal identity, and mobility. These are foundational building blocks of survival, dignity, and long-term recovery. Women’s aspirations reflect a powerful and enduring determination to rebuild their lives and contribute meaningfully to their families and communities.

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security will convene a virtual discussion with three Afghan experts to examine what rural women are experiencing in Afghanistan today and what can be done to support them. They will provide a roadmap for targeted, high-impact interventions, identifying clear steps that the international community can take to help restore essential services, safeguard fundamental rights, and support women in rebuilding their lives with dignity and hope.

To learn more, please find the full research report here.

Featuring:

Storai Tapesh, Founder of the Tapesh Foundation and human rights activist

Robina Hamdard, Founder and Executive Director of Afghan Canadian Women for Global Cooperation Association and women’s rights activist

Muqadasa Ahmadzai, Founder of Afghanistan Institute for Peace and Stability and women’s rights expert

Kimberly Hart, Director of Policy and Programs, The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security

Hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and the Afghanistan Institute for Peace and Stability