Gender Alert on COVID-19 in Afghanistan | Issue XII: The Impact of COVID-19 on Women Affiliated with Opium Poppy Cultivation

This alert focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on women in areas where opium poppy is cultivated, women in households engaging in opium poppy cultivation and the overall complex dynamics between the pandemic and opium poppy cultivation altogether. This alert provides a closer examination on an issue that receives little attention in Afghanistan – the gender dimensions of opium poppy cultivation and how gender and women’s empowerment practices can inform how this challenge is addressed. It provides an overview of the limited data that is currently available, as well as emerging data on COVID-19 and opium poppy cultivation overall. The alert concludes with a set of preliminary recommendations for consideration by national and international stakeholders to engage long-term strategies to promote women’s economic empowerment, decision-making and access to essential services and essential prevention factors to curb opium poppy cultivation. This Gender Alert is part of the “UN Women Afghanistan Gender Alert on COVID-19 series".