Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, fragile policy and democratic gains for women’s rights have been dramatically reversed. This event explored the idea of security from the perspective of the lived experiences of women and girls as they contend with a new political order under the Taliban regime.

Newly launched evidence, based on research conducted by the Afghan NGO DROPS and ODI, demonstrates that families are increasingly marrying off their girls under an appropriate age to cope with closure of education and employment opportunities as well as fear of forced marriage to Taliban leaders. This is underpinned by deep gender inequality and patriarchal norms which enforce a primarily domestic and child-bearing role for women. The event hosted leading thinkers and expert policy figures to discuss how to reframe mainstream conceptions of security beyond an absence of active combat, to include gendered experiences of insecurity. It identified recommendations for safeguarding and advocating for women’s rights under Taliban rule.