UNICEF confirmed to Afghanistan International that funding shortages have forced it to reduce staff worldwide, including in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, several Afghan women said the agency's Kabul office had not renewed their employment contracts.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) told Afghanistan International on Tuesday, 3 November, that a review of employment records indicated the women were not directly employed by UNICEF and had probably been hired by partner organisations or contractors.
However, the women protesting the decision said nine of them had been employed through the HPL organisation, while at least four were directly employed by UNICEF.
UNICEF said it was facing challenging funding conditions in implementing its programmes worldwide. Its Afghanistan office confirmed that budget shortages had affected the continued employment of both male and female staff.
The UN children's agency stressed that despite funding reductions, it was working to maintain the delivery of services to Afghan children. It also reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining gender diversity among its workforce in accordance with UN obligations.
A group of Afghan women claimed that UNICEF had not renewed their contracts because of the ban on women working in UN offices. The women said there were 13 of them, most of whom had worked as kindergarten teachers, while others held reception and cleaning positions at UNICEF's main office in Pul-e Charkhi, Kabul.
In a letter to Afghanistan International, the women wrote that following the ban on women working in UN offices, they had been prevented from reporting to work for approximately a year but had continued to receive their salaries.
They claimed UNICEF had recently informed them that, because of the restrictions on women working in UN offices, their services were no longer needed.
The women said they had worked at UNICEF's main office in Pul-e Charkhi, Kabul, with some claiming to have been employed there for around 10 years.
According to the information provided, 10 of the women worked as kindergarten teachers, while four others held positions in reception, cleaning and supervision.
In September last year, Taliban officials, acting on orders from their leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, prevented Afghan women from entering UN offices. Since then, Afghan women have not been allowed to work in UN offices in Afghanistan.
In mid-April, the United Nations announced that 3,300 male and female employees had been confined to their homes as a result of Taliban restrictions.
UN officials have repeatedly emphasised that women's participation is essential for delivering life-saving assistance to millions of people in need.
The ban on women working in UN offices has also prompted criticism from Afghan activists. Several women's rights activists abroad have accused the United Nations of normalising the Taliban's gender discrimination.
Speaking at the UN Security Council on 27 October, human rights activist Zubaida Akbar questioned how much longer Afghan women must wait and what further evidence of Taliban violations of their rights they must provide before the international community takes action.
Akbar accused the United Nations of applying a selective approach to human rights and women's rights. She added that the organisation avoids including female representatives in meetings with the Taliban in order to accommodate the group's demands.
Anti-Taliban resistance groups claim to have carried out 82 attacks against Taliban positions and members across Afghanistan in October. According to figures released by the groups, the number of attacks more than doubled compared with September.
In a report written by Will Selber, a retired regional affairs officer at the US Central Command (CENTCOM), The Long War Journal said the attacks included improvised explosive device (IED) blasts, rocket and mortar attacks, ambushes and assassinations.
The attacks were reported in Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Takhar, Kabul, Bamiyan, Parwan, Kapisa, Panjshir, Maidan Wardak, Ghor, Herat, Sar-e Pol, Kunar, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Ghazni, Paktia and Logar provinces.
According to the anti-Taliban groups, 122 Taliban members were killed and another 68 wounded in the attacks. However, these casualty figures have not been independently verified.
According to the report, the Afghanistan United Front, led by Sami Sadat, the former commander of the Afghan army's 215th Corps in Helmand, claimed the highest number of operations among anti-Taliban groups, reporting 36 attacks.
The report added that most of these attacks took place in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), led by Ahmad Massoud, also claimed responsibility for 11 attacks in Badakhshan, Baghlan, Panjshir, Herat, Kandahar and Maidan Wardak provinces.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF), led by Yasin Zia, Afghanistan's former army chief of staff, claimed responsibility for 10 attacks in Badakhshan, Parwan, Kabul, Kapisa, Kunar, Logar, Nuristan and Takhar provinces.
The front also claimed to have attacked Bagram Air Base on 22 October, allegedly killing or wounding more than 10 Taliban members.
The military wing of the Green Trend, led by former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh, claimed responsibility for eight attacks in Badakhshan, Panjshir, Bamiyan, Helmand and Herat provinces.
The group also claimed to have shot down an Indian-made Cheetal helicopter in Panjshir, saying two pilots were injured in the incident.
The Taliban rejected the claim, saying the helicopter struck a rock while attempting to land at an unsuitable location.
In his report, Will Selber also highlighted the activities of smaller anti-Taliban groups.
According to the report, the Afghanistan Republican Front, led by Tahir Zuhair, the former governor of Bamiyan, claimed to have carried out nine attacks. Meanwhile, the National Mobilisation Front claimed responsibility for killing a senior Taliban prison official in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province.
The report also noted the emergence of two new anti-Taliban groups. The Afghanistan National Freedom Front, led by Abdul Sattar Hussaini, a former member of parliament, reportedly carried out its first attack in Gardez, Paktia province.
Meanwhile, the National Arman Front claimed responsibility for three attacks in Ghazni, Baghlan and Helmand provinces.
The report highlights an increase in anti-Taliban resistance activity, although the groups continue to face fragmentation and a lack of coordination.
Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, said Taliban restrictions have severely limited or destroyed young Afghans' hopes of pursuing higher education, finding employment, achieving financial independence, starting families and contributing to society.
Speaking on Monday, 2 November, at an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's Third Committee, Bennett stressed that Afghanistan cannot achieve lasting peace and stability without the participation of young people in education, employment, leadership and decision-making.
The event, titled "Afghanistan's Youth at a Crossroads: Rights, Aspirations, Challenges and Opportunities", was organised by Afghanistan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in cooperation with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, with support from the permanent missions of Ireland and Denmark.
Citing figures from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Bennett said approximately 34% of Afghanistan's population, nearly one-third of the total, is aged between 10 and 24, while two-thirds of the country's population is 25 or younger.
He said young Afghans aspire to pursue higher education, find suitable employment, achieve financial independence, start families, participate in social life and contribute to their communities. However, many of these opportunities have been severely restricted or completely eliminated in Afghanistan.
The UN Special Rapporteur emphasised that young people have different experiences, priorities and aspirations, and that their needs must be considered individually, according to their circumstances.
Bennett warned that systematic human rights violations by the Taliban affect not only the current generation but also the future of generations to come in Afghanistan.
According to him, young Afghans face a range of interconnected challenges, including discrimination, exclusion from education and employment, poverty, limited access to information and freedom of expression, and exclusion from decision-making processes.
Bennett added that the consequences of Taliban restrictions do not affect all young people equally but vary depending on gender, ethnicity, religion, place of residence, economic circumstances, disability and educational background.
He described the situation of women and girls as particularly concerning, saying they face severe and structural discrimination that could amount to gender-based persecution and oppression.
Bennett also expressed concern about increasing restrictions on academic freedom and critical thinking, alongside a growing emphasis on ideological education, warning of their implications for Afghanistan's future.
He said young people also have limited opportunities to develop leadership skills and participate in decision-making processes.
The UN Special Rapporteur called on the international community to invest in creating practical opportunities for Afghanistan's young people.
He identified scholarships, high-quality online education programmes, technical and vocational training, digital skills development, entrepreneurship and access to international employment opportunities as important areas for supporting Afghan youth.
Qaiser Afridi, UNHCR spokesman in Islamabad, told Afghanistan International on Monday, 2 November, that the US had not contacted the agency about deporting Afghans via Pakistan.
He said UNHCR had no role in the process and was unaware of any talks between the two countries.
On 28 October, The New York Times reported that Washington was finalising a plan with Islamabad to return around 150 Afghan asylum seekers to Afghanistan via Pakistan. Their asylum applications in the United States had been rejected, and they had received deportation orders.
Responding to the reports, the spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told Afghanistan International: Our position is absolutely clear: people whose lives are at risk and who need protection must not be forcibly deported.
He added that, given the difficult conditions in Afghanistan and the denial of education to girls, forcibly returning asylum seekers poses serious risks. He stressed that any transfer must take place with the consent of the asylum seekers and in accordance with international law.
Referring to concerns raised by human rights organisations, Afridi emphasised that respecting human rights and refugee laws is a fundamental obligation for all countries.
Pakistani officials and informed sources in Islamabad had previously told Afghanistan International that they had no knowledge of any plan to bring these asylum seekers into Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Taliban's Foreign Ministry has also expressed concern over the reports, urging Washington to ensure that any decisions concerning the fate of Afghan citizens are made through bilateral coordination and respect their human dignity.
These developments come amid widespread human rights concerns over Washington's reported plans to return Afghan asylum seekers.
At the same time, pressure on Afghan migrants in neighbouring countries has intensified. According to UN figures, millions of Afghan refugees and migrants have returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan during waves of forced deportations from Pakistan and Iran alone.
Human rights activists warn that forcibly returning people who fled Afghanistan because of security threats, their work with foreign organisations or the Taliban's restrictive policies could expose them to irreversible threats to their lives and safety.
The secretariat of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Afghanistan told former Afghan MP Baktash Siawash it would support efforts to advance recognition of gender apartheid. It said work on a new convention on crimes against humanity was ongoing.
According to a copy of the letter obtained by Afghanistan International, Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle, chair of the delegation, expressed appreciation for Siawash's petition.
The secretariat stressed that, where appropriate and within its mandate, the delegation would cooperate in advancing consideration of the codification of "gender apartheid" in the European Parliament.
The secretariat also noted that the website of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Afghanistan provides welcome packs and information brochures for newly elected members.
The European Parliament's Committee on Petitions recently informed Baktash Siawash in a written letter that it would examine the recognition of gender apartheid in Afghanistan on 5 November in Brussels.
In recent months, Afghan women's rights activists and human rights defenders have staged sit-in protests in Brussels, Strasbourg and Geneva, collecting thousands of signatures to urge European institutions to take a firmer stance against the systematic exclusion of women from public life in Afghanistan.
Siawash previously told Afghanistan International that he had been in contact with European Union representatives and had shared a petition containing more than 5,000 signatures.
He warned that protests would continue and intensify if the demands of Afghan women and the wider population were not taken seriously.
In recent days, the European Union expressed concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan during the Third Committee of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, strongly condemning severe and institutionalised gender-based discrimination and repression against women and girls.
In a statement, the EU said the systematic violation of women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan could constitute gender-based persecution and a crime against humanity.
In May 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
During a plenary session, the Parliament condemned the Taliban's criminal procedure code for courts and called for an end to public floggings and executions, as well as sanctions against Taliban leaders.
The Afghanistan United Front, led by Sami Sadat, says it carried out 16 attacks against Taliban forces across eight provinces in the past week. According to statements issued between 22 and 29 October, 18 Taliban members were killed and nine wounded.
A review of statements released by the Afghanistan United Front shows that the attacks were concentrated in Kandahar, Kapisa, Helmand, Ghor, Zabul, Badakhshan, Ghazni and Parwan provinces.
According to the statements, four operations were carried out in Kandahar, two in Ghor and two in Zabul. One operation was reported in each of Badakhshan, Ghazni and Parwan, while four additional operations took place in Helmand and Kapisa.
Timeline of Attacks and Reported Casualties
According to a statement issued by the front on 22 October, four separate attacks were carried out in the first and fifth police districts of Lashkar Gah city in Helmand and in Hesa Awal Kohistan district of Kapisa. The attacks reportedly killed five Taliban members and destroyed a Ranger vehicle.
In another statement issued on 23 October, the front said it had targeted a Taliban police officer in Daman district in Kandahar, killing him and seizing his motorcycle.
A further statement issued on 26 October said the front had conducted seven simultaneous operations across six provinces.
In separate attacks in Charsada district and Firozkoh city in Ghor province, four Taliban members were reportedly killed and seven wounded.
On the same day, attacks in Qalat city in Zabul, Muqur district in Ghazni, the Gulbahar foothills of Jabal Saraj in Parwan, Tagab district of Badakhshan, and Dand district in Kandahar reportedly killed five other Taliban members and wounded two.
According to a statement issued on 27 October, a Taliban intelligence officer was killed in Shahr-e Safa district of Zabul, while a Taliban police officer identified as Mullah Samargul was killed in Tagab district in Kapisa.
Statements issued on 29 October reported two further operations in Kandahar province.
The front said it attacked a Taliban checkpoint in Arghistan district without causing casualties. In a separate attack in Spin Boldak district, the group said it targeted a Taliban vehicle, killing one Taliban member and destroying the vehicle.
Taliban officials have not yet commented on the reported attacks.
The Afghanistan United Front formally announced the launch of its armed activities against the Taliban administration in August this year.
The front initially began its attacks in southern Afghanistan, particularly in Kandahar province, and says it has since carried out numerous operations against Taliban forces across the country.