The United Kingdom’s special representative for Afghanistan, Richard Lindsay, has said Afghanistan cannot achieve its full potential without women and girls having access to education, employment and participation in public life, warning that their resilience under five years of Taliban rule cannot substitute for their fundamental rights.
Lindsay made the remarks on Friday, August 14, in messages posted in Dari and Pashto on X ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan will only reach its full potential when women and girls can exercise their rights to education, work and participation in public life,” Lindsay said, emphasizing the importance of women’s participation in the country’s future.
In a separate message, the British envoy highlighted the economic and educational consequences of restrictions imposed on women and girls since the Taliban returned to power.
Lindsay said more than 1.4 million girls have been deprived of secondary education, while more than 5 billion hours of schooling have been lost as a result of the restrictions.
He also said excluding women from the workforce costs Afghanistan more than $1.4 billion annually, underscoring the economic consequences of limiting women’s participation in employment.
Lindsay’s comments come as Afghanistan marks five years since the Taliban returned to power on August 15, 2021. During this period, the authorities have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including restrictions on secondary and higher education, employment and participation in public life.
The restrictions have drawn sustained criticism from the United Nations, human rights organizations and foreign governments, which have repeatedly called for Afghan women and girls to have access to education, employment and other fundamental rights.
The British envoy’s remarks also highlight the connection between women’s rights and Afghanistan’s economic development. International organizations have warned that excluding women from education and the labor market undermines the country’s human capital and limits its prospects for long-term economic recovery.
Lindsay said the resilience demonstrated by Afghan women and girls over the past five years should not be used as a substitute for restoring their fundamental rights.
