New findings from the Women and Children Research and Advocacy Network, conducted jointly with the University of Toronto, indicate that approximately 95 percent of women in Afghanistan avoid pursuing legal cases because of profound distrust in the justice system.
The figure offers a stark picture of the collapse in effective access to justice for women following Afghanistan’s political transformation in 2021.
According to the report, around 65 percent of women also described negative experiences when approaching courts, suggesting that the crisis extends beyond simple access and deeply affects trust, safety, and confidence in legal processes.
Researchers say declining female representation in legal and judicial institutions, alongside weakened justice structures, has been a major factor in the erosion of fair legal recourse for women.
In this environment, many women reportedly see formal justice mechanisms not as protection, but as ineffective or potentially harmful.
Participants at the report’s launch warned that continued deterioration could contribute to rising domestic violence, expanding social despair, and a deeper human rights crisis.
The findings suggest that when the vast majority of women no longer view the justice system as a place of protection, the issue reflects not merely institutional weakness, but a broader crisis in human security and social support.
