The War on Afghanistani Women
Since the Taliban regained control in Afghanistan in 2021, women and girls have suffered tremendously. Girls cannot pursue their education after 6th grade, many forms of employment are prohibited, movement is restricted, and draconian punishments are on the rise for those who resist. These attacks on women and girls on all corners of their lives cannot be forgotten. Since the withdrawal of the NATO-backed invasion, much of the world has turned away from Afghanistan, showing little surprise to the increase of terror on women. This very silence by the international community is what enables the Taliban to continue its war on women.
The issue of agency for women in Afghanistan seems to be the most pressing. Women and girls are limited in their choices; their choice to work, their choice to pursue education, their choice to leave home, their choice to move - it is all decided by someone else, mostly the Taliban-controlled government. This target of women and girls is systematic. The Taliban has made it clear its view of women and how little rights they should be afforded. The choice for women is not theirs, and this is a very dangerous path they are forced to be on.
Public flogging and stoning have returned as a method of punishment fancied by the Taliban. This method of execution and punishment is targeted towards women for crimes of sodomy, theft, and adultery. Besides the horrendous punishment, these crimes women are being charged with are without due process. This is what many activists are most concerned with. If a woman is accused of committing adultery, her punishment may very well be swift with little investigation into the accusations. Sara Arefi, director of Women’s Window of Hope in Afghanistan, stated that the announcement of the return of stoning women to death brings in a “new chapter of private punishments” and that these women are facing the “depths of loneliness.” The Taliban feels more than empowered in their move, reaffirming their rejection of Western and democratic norms and saying that this is their interpretation of Sharia law, and it is only the beginning.
The 13th of June marked 1,000 days since the Taliban banned girls from secondary education. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world with this sort of restriction on girl’s education. This limit has impacted over 1 million girls, with that number likely to increase as time goes on. In addition to a decrease in the overall literacy of the country, this will have a negative impact on the overall mental health of girls and women alike. This attack on everything they could want in order to live a full autonomous life cannot go unnoticed.
The timeline of these rights being rescinded shows how fast the Taliban has moved in its war on women. Starting in September 2021, when they returned to power, women were banned from playing in sports, in November, female journalists were prohibited from appearing on air without a full face covering. In March 2022, girls were banned from secondary education, in August women employed with the Ministry of Finance were ordered to send a male relative to take over their jobs. In November of the same year, women were prohibited from many public places including amusement parks, parks, gyms, and more. Finally, in December, girls and women are banned from attending university. Throughout 2023, women doctors are banned from registering for their completion exams in their specialization, beauty salons are forced to close, and all NGOs are prohibited from working on conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and more.
The above timeline outlines the nightmare women and girls are living under the Taliban. Many Afghanistani activists stress that this has happened because no one is paying attention. Afghanistani researcher Sahar Fetrat, of Human Rights Watch, stated that two years ago the Taliban did not have the courage to do what they are doing today. They have shown their policies throughout the years and no one has held them accountable, so what’s stopping them now? This will only continue. The executions will continue. New laws will be made making it harder for women to live their lives. Girls might eventually be banned from attending school altogether. There is no line. Without pushback, women in Afghanistan are facing this war alone.
The international community must put more pressure on the Taliban to reverse many of their policies. These are amounting to crimes against humanity and clear gender apartheid. Due to the ongoing violence that has plagued Afghanistan throughout the years at the hands of the U.S. and many other Western countries, many view Afghanistan as a place that will always be dangerous. These headlines are no longer shocking because people have gotten used to it. There is no getting used to gender apartheid. There is no getting used to crimes against humanity. We urge other human rights organizations to bring attention to what women and girls in Afghanistan are facing. They deserve to live their dreams and go to school and work and travel whenever they please. They deserve freedom. It is beyond time to shine a light on the war on women in Afghanistan.
Additional Sources:
https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/Gender-country-profile-Afghanistan-en.pdf
https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/06/gender-country-profile-afghanistan
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/06/11/un-expert-slams-taliban-crimes-against-afghan-women-girls
