International cuts to humanitarian funding are crippling basic education and essential services for Afghan girls and women, Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), warned in an interview with Agence France-Presse in Kabul.
Funding shortfalls imperil food, classrooms and protection
Egeland criticised foreign governments for insisting that the Taliban restore rights for women and girls while simultaneously reducing lifesaving aid to Afghanistan. He called the approach “hypocrisy”, saying demands for rights should be matched by continued humanitarian support.
“It is hypocrisy” to demand rights for Afghan women from abroad while cutting aid for food and primary education, Egeland told AFP.
United Nations figures referenced by Egeland show international assistance has fallen sharply since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. As of late August, the UN had received less than 30% of the funding it said was needed for life‑saving humanitarian assistance. The shortfall has come alongside natural disasters and the return of millions of Afghans from Iran and Pakistan since 2023, deepening the crisis.
Immediate impacts on women, girls and frontline workers
The humanitarian squeeze is producing concrete losses for women and girls, Egeland said while visiting NRC projects across Afghanistan. He said his organisation had been forced to lay off female aid workers and teachers who were employed in primary education for girls because of funding shortages.
UN agencies have also reported service closures: roughly 175 centres offering gender‑based violence services closed in the first six months of the year because of lack of funding, affecting about 1 million people. UNICEF warned in August that acute malnutrition had reached critical levels, affecting about 1 million children this year.
- NRC staffing: The Norwegian Refugee Council employs about 400 people in Afghanistan, including women, and provides food assistance, education, shelter and protection services.
- Education restrictions: Since 2021 the de facto authorities have barred girls from secondary schools and universities and imposed other restrictions on women.
- Funding gap: The UN has received under 30% of the requested funds for life‑saving assistance.
| Indicator | Figure |
|---|---|
| UN funding received (late August) | <30% |
| Children affected by acute malnutrition | ~1 million |
| GBV service centres closed (first six months) | ~175 |
| NRC staff in Afghanistan | ~400 |
Humanitarian strategy and the rights‑versus‑aid debate
Egeland rejected the notion that withdrawing humanitarian support would effectively pressure the Taliban to change its policies. He argued that funding cuts do the greatest harm to the very women and girls whom rights‑based diplomacy seeks to protect, undermining primary education and essential food and protection services.
The NRC’s operations include primary education for girls; with funding constrained, the organisation said it had to reduce staff, including female teachers and aid workers. The closures of gender‑based violence centres and the worsening nutrition situation point to broader protection gaps that affect girls’ ability to attend and remain in school.
The situation in Afghanistan illustrates a challenging question for donor governments: how to combine diplomatic pressure for rights with continued support for humanitarian needs. Egeland’s comments underscore the practical consequences of funding decisions for classrooms, clinics and protection services that sustain vulnerable communities.
For governments and education advocates elsewhere, the Afghan case is a reminder that restrictions on girls’ education interact with resource constraints. When funding for basic services is withdrawn, access to primary schooling — often the only formal education available to many girls — is at risk, as are the women employed to teach and support them.
As international debate continues over how best to respond to the Taliban authorities, agencies working on the ground say continued humanitarian funding is central to preserving what remains of girls’ access to schooling and the institutions that protect women and children.
