The Trump administration’s sweeping rollback of U.S. foreign aid is sending shockwaves across global humanitarian sectors, however, the consequences are more devastating than ever in Afghanistan, where women already battling Taliban oppression are now being cut off from their last lifelines to education and survival.
Last week, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) abruptly scrapped a critical scholarship program that allowed 208 Afghan women to pursue college degrees, some virtually and others abroad, through the American University of Afghanistan. The Women’s Scholarship Endowment, a $50 million fund established in 2018, did not cost U.S. taxpayers a dime in new spending. The program ran on interest alone, providing hope in the face of Taliban-enforced educational bans that have denied nearly all Afghan girls access to high school and university since 2021.
“This scholarship meant everything to me,” said R.K., a student benefiting from the endowment. “It was like a light in the darkest days of my life. After the fall of Kabul, this program was my biggest hope for the future.”
Now, R.K. and her peers are in limbo. An April 5 email from a deputy USAID administrator informed them that the program was being ended immediately, citing a “review and determination that the award is inconsistent with the Administration’s priorities.”
The same weekend, the administration slashed over $1.3 billion in humanitarian aid globally, including $562 million designated for Afghanistan. This includes emergency food aid, health services, and support for women and girls from U.N. agencies and NGOs. The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned the decision “could amount to a death sentence” for millions facing hunger, particularly women and children.
“The Afghan awards were very carefully targeted at the most life-saving activities,” said Sarah Charles, former head of USAID’s humanitarian affairs bureau. “This will be devastating to the most vulnerable in Afghanistan who are… under the thumb of the Taliban.”
Nearly 23 million Afghans need humanitarian aid today and over half of them are children. The WFP provided food and cash to 12 million Afghans last year, prioritizing the most vulnerable groups like women and girls. With funding now halted, programs designed to alleviate hunger, provide reproductive health services, and offer educational hope are collapsing.
Among those affected is the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which lost a $24 million grant focused on women’s health in Afghanistan. These cuts are not only stripping resources but potentially destabilizing the country even further.
The current administration’s dismantling of USAID appears to be deliberate and ideological. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has led the charge, often ignoring prior assurances to Congress that critical programs would remain protected, and showing no interest in the vulnerable populations affected by aid destruction.
Human rights advocates are calling the policy “cruel and shortsighted.” Sahar Fetrat of Human Rights Watch stated, “These programs were the last remaining loopholes for girls and women seeking higher education.” She called the aid suspensions “the final blow” to Afghan women’s ambitions.
Back in Kabul, R.K. now fears her two years of hard work may be wasted. With 49 of 120 credits completed and no clear path forward, she wonders, “Why won’t the authorities of the world allow Afghan girls to study?”
The answer, for now, remains buried in bureaucracy and political posturing—while Afghan women are left to watch their futures and dreams fade.
The terminations are expected to cause ripple effects beyond the immediate hunger crisis. Humanitarian experts warn that halting food and health assistance could drive increased instability, migration, and even recruitment into extremist groups like ISIS-K, the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized the abrupt nature of the cuts, saying they “will have devastating consequences.”
For Afghan women—already stripped of most rights and access to education and healthcare—the cuts may represent the final unraveling of international support. With food insecurity worsening and essential services crumbling, millions are now left to fend for themselves under a regime that offers little in the way of protection or opportunity.
As international organizations scramble to reassess operations in the wake of these terminations, the question remains: who will step in to prevent this looming humanitarian catastrophe?