The United Nations said that imposing restrictions on women and girls has damaged Afghanistan's economy.

Kanni Wignaraja, Assistant Secretary General and Regional Director of Asia-Pacific at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), mentioned that the UN supports 75,000 small businesses owned by women in Afghanistan.

This UN official, after her visit to Afghanistan, highlighted in a press conference that no girls have graduated from 12th grade in the country last year due to restrictions against women.

Wignaraja said, "Last year no girls graduated from grade twelve, so how will they ... jump from grade six to moving into these, whether it's technical training, colleges, or university that is needed for the medical field?”

"The Taliban only have one way to win the approval and reassurance of the international community, which is to respect human rights and formally recognize the fundamental rights of women," said Sayed Jawad Sajadi, a university scholar said.

Meanwhile, Stephen Rodriques, the UNDP country director in Afghanistan, during the conference spoke about the unemployment rate doubling over the last two years.

Stephen Rodriguez, the Head of the UN Development Program for Afghanistan, stated: "Unemployment has doubled in the last two years ... women account for only 6% of employment ... so the case we are making to the international community ... is that the humanitarian assistance of the last two years has been quiet important to prevent people from starving.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy denied the claim of unemployment doubling and added that the Islamic Emirate is making efforts to improve public welfare levels.

Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy, said: "We vehemently deny the doubling of unemployment. Our efforts this year are focused on initiating job-creating projects and increasing families' purchasing power. We are endeavoring to enhance the general welfare level."

This is amid the United Nations' warnings about the rise in poverty in the country following the prohibition of women's employment in certain government and non-governmental organizations.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate consistently asserted that even though women are not employed in government agencies, their salaries are disbursed by the interim government.