Afghanistan was ranked 146 -- the lowest country -- in the Global Gender Gap Index 2022 rankings.  

The Global Gender Gap Index benchmarks 146 countries, "providing a basis for robust cross-country analysis," the report said. “Of these, a subset of 102 countries have been represented in every edition of the index since 2006, further providing a large constant sample for time series analysis,’ the report reads.  

The report assessed the gender gap around the world. 

But the Islamic Emirate said that it included women --based on necessity -- in the government bodies.  

Samara is one of the thousands of girls who has faced social restrictions after the fall of the former government.  

“There are a lot of restrictions including inequality. The women don’t have access to education and are deprived of social activities,” she said.  

“In 2022 parity increased in part because women earn slightly more on average (+2%) than in 2021, but also because men earn less (-1.8%) on average than in 2021. Twenty-eight countries have closed less than 50% of the gender gap on this indicator, with the lowest levels of parity reported in Iran (16%), Afghanistan (18%) and Algeria (18%). Overall, Sub-Saharan African and Middle East and North Africa have the lowest levels of income parity, at approximately 23% and 24%, respectively,” the report reads.  

“If such restrictions on women continue, not only the women will be removed from the Afghan society, but this will also affect the international community,” said Zarqa Yaftali, a women's rights defender.  

“We are expecting the Islamic Emirate to take steps to ensure women’s rights and include women in the government,” said Mariam Maroof, a women’s rights activist.  

“The current government considers all rights of women in Islamic regulation. The women are working in various fields because the government should include women, based on necessity,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.