Women | ACW | 27 October 2026 — Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, has said Afghanistan faces the world's most severe women's rights crisis and that girls there are denied an education.

According to 8am Media and Afghanistan International, she made the remarks on Monday, 26 October 2026, at a meeting on women, peace and security at UN headquarters in New York.

8am Media quoted her as saying that Afghanistan, "which today faces the most severe women's rights crisis in the world," is denying girls an education that could transform their lives.

She also said that more than 37,000 civilians were killed in armed conflicts worldwide last year, a quarter of them women and girls. This figure was reported only by 8am Media.

Gumbonzvanda called for women to take part in all peace talks as decision-makers and for funding for women's organisations. The full text of her speech was not available on the UN website at the time of publication.

No response from the Taliban caretaker government appeared in the published reports.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban caretaker government has barred girls from school beyond sixth grade and women from university, and has restricted women's work in many sectors.

Why it matters: The warning from one of UN Women's most senior officials shows that the situation of Afghan women remains on the agenda of UN discussions on women, peace and security, as the ban on girls' education continues into its sixth year.

ACW will continue to follow this story.