Afghanistan
Out of Work, Out of School and on the Run: Women’s Rights in Taliban’s Afghanistan
Post capturing power in August last year; the Taliban claimed that under its regime, women would be awarded every right within the confines of the Sharia law. However, after witnessing the harsh restrictions imposed on women’s education, their right to employment, and even the right to ride a vehicle; it’s hard to believe that the Taliban will stand by its words.
So, what is the current state of Afghan women under the Taliban regime? How is the international community reacting? And is the worst yet to come?
How Are the Taliban Abusing Women’s Rights?
The past two decades marked an era of women’s empowerment in Afghanistan. Girls entered classrooms, females entered the workforce, became prominent political leaders, business tycoons, sports personalities, and whatnot. But, soon after the takeover, the Taliban succeeded in stripping away all the development done in the sector in a flash.
While the Taliban promised international observers that it would alter its stance on many human rights concerns; the organization has been accused of reverting to old patterns more than half a year into its rule. The Taliban has proven to be as restrictive and violent as many thought it would be on women’s rights.
So, here’s a glimpse of how the lives of women in afghan have changed over the year after the Taliban takeover:
The Dying Education Sector
Despite its claim and support of the right to education; most secondary schools in Afghanistan have been closed since August, at least for girls ages 13 to 18.
Officials previously promised that all students would be able to return to school by the end of March. However, on the reopening day, the Taliban took the orders back, pushing female students’ futures again into great uncertainty.
The majority of private institutions have reopened, despite teachers’ shortages. However, the new rules issued by the Taliban demand the classrooms be divided by gender, and there must be no mixing of men and women between classes.
Some government institutions reopened a few weeks ago under similar restrictions, although most barely had a trickle of female students.
Afghanistan: No Place For Women Employees
According to Talibani leaders, women can be allowed to work, but only if their workplace is segregated from men. In practice, however, women are essentially forbidden from working. Especially for the government, with the exception of particular fields like health care and education.
Even in the private sector, cases of harassment against women on their way to work often resurface. Moreover, Taliban intelligence officers often visit commercial firms to ensure strict segregation is maintained. As a result, several managers have fired female employees out of prudence.
Small women-only cooperatives have been able to survive in some locations, such as a jasmine processing plant in the historic western city of Herat; which has long been considered liberal by Afghan standards.
Despite this, the Taliban’s resurgence has rendered tens of thousands of Afghan women jobless, reversing two decades of social progress in diversifying all elements of their profession, from the police to the courts.
Personal Freedom
The Taliban made it mandatory for women to wear an all-covering burqa in public during their first term in office. Agents from the dreaded Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice are ordered to whip anybody discovered without one.
Last month, the Ministry distributed posters across Kabul “suggesting” that women wear the less restrictive hijab. Although images of women wearing the burqa accompanied the message.
Women were also required to travel between cities and towns with a male relative. Moreover, cab drivers were instructed not to pick up female customers unless they wore hijabs.
Prior to the Taliban’s return, the capital’s beauty salons and fashion stores were thriving, but they have all but primarily vanished. Meanwhile, in Herat, store mannequins were decapitated, and billboards depicting the human form were removed because they were judged un-Islamic.
Read More: Afghanistan: Taliban Orders Head-to-Toe Coverings for Women in Public Further Defying Human Rights
Women’s Rights Abuse: The Reaction of the International Community
The international community is condemning the Taliban’s draconian laws and abuse of women’s rights. Upon the recent decree mandating Afghan women to wear head-to-toe covering while stepping outside, the U.S. State Department spokesperson released the following statement
“We are extremely concerned that the rights and progress Afghan women and girls have achieved and enjoyed over the last 20 years are being eroded. We and many of our partners in the international community remain deeply troubled by the recent steps the Taliban have taken directed at women and girls, including restriction on education and travel.”
U.S. State of Department Spokesperson
The United Nations has also condemned the Taliban and believe the recent decree can further strain engagement with the international community.
Women activists in Afghanistan are raising questions about the laws imposed in the state against women’s rights. The activists fear that the Taliban is tracing its steps back on the same old regressive rule they followed during their regime from 1996 to 2001.
Is this the Kindler, Gentler Taliban Afghan Women Were Promised?
After reclaiming power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban promised a milder version of the brutal rule that characterized their first term in office, during which women’s rights were systematically taken.
However, despite its promises, Afghan women had little to no hope of a better Afghanistan, with the Taliban leading the government. The glorification of the Taliban’s policy was a way for the west to justify its act of bailing on Afghanistan. It was a mere consolation that the Taliban have changed, and now it will not enforce its draconian rules on Afghans.
However, as the regime is crushing the rosy glasses, the terror of the worst is resurfacing again. The terror of 2022 Afghanistan becoming the terror-stricken 1996 Afghanistan.
The Islamic laws do not force women to lose their identity as people. Instead, they empower women. Therefore, it is high time for the international community to take action against the atrocities of poor Afghans. Because the way the Taliban is treating its women citizen is anything but right.
“The world is watching us and doing nothing “
said an Afghan women NGO worker interviewee on BBC.
The Taliban tore apart Islamic principles towards women after seizing control over Kabul in August 2021. And there is no sign of them stopping in 2023, either.
The recent ban on women aid workers is one of the many instances that display the lengths the Taliban can go to oppress Afghan women while the world watches from afar.
Like many lost news, the realities of millions of Afghan women suffering under the autocratic regime have become third-world stories. But, for those of you who still care, here’s how women are surviving in 2023’s Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
Afghan Women Under Fresh Restrictions: Banned Aid Workers
An official letter by the Taliban reached the ministry to refugees in Kandahar decreeing a ban on women working for the United Nations from providing vital humanitarian assistance.
“All partner organizations that are working with the Department of Refugees and Repatriation of Spin Boldak … should ask their female colleagues not to come to their work and stay at home until further notice.”
The letter read
According to the Taliban, the restrictions on women working with UN humanitarians for refugees are sustained as the ministry for refugees in Kandahar is violating orders related to working with refugees.
The ministry said they observed women breaking Sharia law by failing to wear the hijab. However, the UN secretary has condemned such a ban and said, “it would be devastating for Afghan women”.
Such a ban on women will make it harder for aid organizations to help people in Afghanistan. As women make up almost half of the population of Afghanistan. This ban will not only make life harder for women, but it will also increase suffering for people across Afghanistan.
The Consequences of the Ban on Women Working for NGOs are Far-Reaching.
According to the source, 28 million people in Afghanistan need humanitarian assistance, and such crusades of female restriction will further risk the lives of millions of people.
A spokesperson for the International Rescue Committee, Samira Sayed Rahman, said – “It is practically impossible to continue our work without female staff. This is a conservative society, and we need female workers to access women. This is a country where men and women do not interact in public spaces. We would be cut off from half of Afghanistan.“
The challenges are not just limited to assisting female patients. But it also causes financial loss to many female workers who have been the only breadwinner in the family.
There are many female workers who are acting as the main earners in their household and say, “If I cannot go to my job, who can support my family?”
National and international NGOs have been informed with strict statements to stop allowing women workers to work on refugee operations. Furthermore, the government of the Taliban has threatened to cancel the organization’s license if any women workers are seen practicing in refugee operations.
The Cruel Afghan Winter
With the winters ahead, temperatures across Afghanistan will plunge to as low as -17C and even lower in mountainous areas.
With no electricity, below average sanitation system, a ban on girls’ education, and the shutting down of higher secondary schools, the days are coming hard for Afghans, especially women.
The Taliban government has already imposed dozens of bans on Afghan women that hinder human rights and make their lives more difficult. Being on the list of poorest countries in the world, Afghanistan’s economic condition will worsen more under such bans.
UN’s Strict Actions Against the Ban by the Taliban
With immediate effect, the UN has temporarily suspended some of its “time-critical” programs in Afghanistan. Because the Taliban has banned women from working as aid workers, the UN has stopped providing essential services to the Afghan people, such as food, water, and medical care.
Moreover, The United Nations has warned Afghanistan that many other programs may also need to be paused if the Taliban does not reverse its ban on women aid workers.
The organization says that the ban is “unacceptable” and that it “will have a devastating impact on the people of Afghanistan.” The United Nations is also warning that the ban could lead to a humanitarian crisis.
The Taliban has not yet responded to the United Nations’ call to reverse its ban. However, the United States assured that they would continue coordinating closely with their allies and partners, including the United Nations, to deliver aid to the people of Afghanistan.
Moreover, the United States also assured that they would take all necessary steps to prevent the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan from getting worse.
The Need for Serious Attention in Afghanistan
During the first press conference after seizing control over Afghanistan, the Taliban spokesperson assured the safety of women in the country.
The spokesperson established the impression of not imposing Sharia law on women in the country. However, These restrictions contradict the commitments made by the Taliban to the Afghan people as well as the expectations of the international community.
The restrictions on getting an education, learning, going for jobs, or doing business by women deeply alarm the need for attention in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s restrictions on women are a serious setback for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. And it should be condemned by big heads like the USA, UK, and European countries with high priority.
The international community must continue to pressure the Taliban to reverse its restrictions on women. The restrictions are a major obstacle to the development of Afghanistan, and they are having a devastating impact on the lives of millions of Afghan women and girls.
Women banned from schools and colleges. Women flogged in markets with dozens of spectators. Girls, as young as 15, mandated to wear complete body covering: These are the horrifying reality Afghan women are forced to live in every day.
Rules of Sharia on Every Moment
Women’s freedom of movement and access to their bodies continue to be restricted in Taliban-run Afghanistan. The draconian group imposed huge barriers on women’s even basic needs: health, education, migration, and expression, depriving thousands of many of their right to earn a livelihood.
Women in Afghanistan have already suffered the most significant losses due to the war and militarization. However, with the control of the Taliban over the nation, the future and dreams of Afghan women are collapsing drastically.
Afghan Women: The Future Looks Dark
The Taliban treat women and girls brutally, and they are forbidden from attending secondary and higher education. Migration and independent travel for women is prohibited. They are not even permitted to migrate or travel without a male chaperone. Girls as young as 13 are forced into marriage.
The Taliban administration has abolished the Ministry of Women Affairs in Afghanistan due to its extreme depravity. There are now no female cabinet members in the Afghan government, thereby ending political participation of 50% of the population.
Following the takeover of Afghanistan, the schools and colleges were forcibly compelled to enact new regulations. It includes gender-apartheid entrances and classrooms. Only female professors or older men can instruct female students. Additionally, the authorities closed the Madressa that solely taught female students.
The future of Afghan women appears bleak with such harsh restrictions and draconian rules. The local women have various aspirations. Young girls want to finish their education and pursue careers in large corporations. But at the moment, it looks gloomy and almost impossible for Afghan women.
Lost Careers & Starving Families
Women-founded business is facing the worst time under Taliban.
Women investors have left their positions or hired males to do their business Women entrepreneurs claim they have invested thousands of Afghanis in the previous government but are currently compelled to close their firms.
The current environment prevents women from freely engaging in small-scale business or employment. Even when women are the only source of income for their families, Afghan women no longer dare to start their businesses.
If these conditions persist, many Afghan families will go hungry.
In Afghanistan, the handicraft industry thrived before the Taliban’s leadership, giving thousands of women jobs. Clothing, goods, and handicraft products were exported to Australia and New Zealand.
However, after the Taliban seized control, the industry went bankrupt due to a policy that discriminated against women and flying restrictions that reduced trade and affected the business adversely.
Afghan Women’s Lives at risk
The women’s crisis in Afghanistan keeps escalating — the restrictions, limitations, and dictatorship have gone too far ahead.
Due to a shortage of healthcare services, Afghan women face significant difficulties. They are restricted from visiting doctors without a male companion, and in some cities, women are not allowed to visit male doctors while the number of female physicians in the nation is closing to nil.
Additionally, women and girls are denied access to healthcare, and reports even imply that they are subjected to assault with no means of fleeing.
The restriction of female students from secondary and higher education violates their right to education and limits female students from reaching their full potential.
Banning female students from getting an education increases child marriages, early pregnancy, abuse, and violence.
Because when you stop 50% of the population from participating in the workforce, your economy falls. Health clinics are running out of medical supplies and professionals, schools do not have enough teachers, the economy is dying, and people at the bottom are bearing the brunt.
Almost every house headed or led by women has lacked sufficient food due to the rise in fuel, food prices, and no source of income. The situation has worsened due to the drought and the war in Ukraine. It is difficult to see women becoming beggars along with their children.
The current situation of Afghan women is deteriorating in the virtual prisoner environment. Taliban restrictions have made women’s financial hardships worse. The lives of Afghan women are seriously at stake, and many women feel it would be better if they had died in the war.
The Silver Line But a Long Way Ahead
UNICEF and NGOs are defending Afghan women and trying to help them as much as possible. The United Nations has repeatedly emphasized that it is committed to carrying out its mission in Afghanistan and promoting the rights of women and girls in the region.
UNFPA is enhancing its existence and helping women through Afghanistan socialism and is collaborating with national partners. UNICEF assumes responsibility for paying the teachers’ monthly salaries and providing them with the necessities for survival. UNFPA is also contributing its share to expand the provision of sexual and reproductive health services, again, for women in rural areas.
But it’s not enough, especially with Taliban banning female NGO employees from coming to work.
To rescue innocent women and children from this catastrophe, more social organizations must advance in light of their responsibility and the current state of Afghan women.
The Taliban should be put under pressure by international organizations and governments to fully implement gender equality and defend the human rights of all Afghan women and girls.
Organizations must quickly realize that women should be given the reins for recovery, peace, stability, and basic rights. Unless that is, the lives of Afghan women continue to deteriorate, and their dreams continue to collapse EVERY SINGLE DAY!
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