The forgotten side of the curtain: The annihilation of women's rights in Afghanistan

16-08-2022

Idil Igdir

Women’s Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence. 

As the world retreated into its own corner and began to focus on other crises, Afghan women have continued to stand up and raise their voices against the Taliban's dire restrictions since August 15, 2021. Some may have optimistically believed that the Taliban would keep their promise to allow women and girls to work and study "within the framework of Islam", but the harsh yet stark realities show the world that everything from political rights to the most basic educational rights has once again been stripped away in the country. As a result, the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan have been shackled and continue to deteriorate amidst rising violence and regression.

Since the fall of Kaboul, the Taliban have reintroduced repressive rules on women and girls, instructing female employees to stay at home and banning girls above the 6th grade from attending school with the reopening of secondary schools (Amnesty International, 2022). At the same time, the requirement to cover their entire body in public, ideally with a burqa, was reinstated once again in May 2022. Officially, as of December 26, 2021, it became mandatory for any woman wishing to travel more than 72 kilometres (45 miles) or leave the country to be escorted by a male chaperone or mahram* (Graham-Harrison E., 2022). Women have been relegated to the status of second-class citizens who have no value without men, rather than being treated as autonomous citizens. Moreover, under a new instruction issued by the Taliban on March 27, 2022, airlines are no longer allowed to accept women on domestic and international flights without a mahram (Amnesty International, 2022). 

Yet, according to some reports, in practice things go far beyond the official regulations. The Guardian revealed that “Taliban fighters have barred them from even short journeys, including commuting to work, sometimes using indirect tactics such as threatening drivers who take solo female passengers” (Graham-Harrison E., 2022). Regarding health, it was found that many women were denied access to health facilities on the grounds that they were not accompanied by a mahram. They were turned away or, even worse, beaten for trying to access health care (Amnesty International, 2022). 

Nevertheless, the world may be turning a blind eye to the systematic attack on women's rights in Afghanistan, but Afghan women continue to resist and protest even though the world is still failing them, thus leaving them alone. On Sunday, August 13, women took the streets in front of the education ministry building in Kaboul, chanting slogans demanding “bread, work and freedom”, alongside a card saying “August 15 is a black day” (Limaye&Thomas, 2022). However, Taliban fighters beat the women protesters, and thus dispersed them in the end.  

• Mahram is a male relative including father, brother, husband son etc. with whom a Muslim woman is permissible to be around and to travel with and be seen without a headscarf (Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, 2022). 

Sources and Further Reading: 

Amnesty International. (August 15, 2022). one year of the Taliban’s broken promises, draconian restrictions and violence. Retrieved 16 August 2022, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/08/afghanistan-one-year-of-the-talibans-broken-promises-draconian-restrictions-and-violence/

Agence France-Presse. (August 13, 2022). Female protesters beaten by Taliban fighters during rare Kabul rally. The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/13/female-protesters-beaten-by-taliban-fighters-during-rare-kabul-rally-afghanistan

Dorrington J. (August 14, 2022). 'Don't forget about us,' Afghan women say, 1 year after Taliban's return to power. ABC News.  Retrieved 16 August 2022, from https://abcnews.go.com/International/dont-forget-us-afghan-women-year-talibans-return/story?id=88293610

Graham-Harrison E. (August 15, 2022). ‘I daren’t go far’: Taliban rules trap Afghan women with no male guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/15/taliban-rules-trap-afghan-women-no-male-guardian

Limaye&Thomas. (August 14, 2022). Taliban break up rare protest by Afghan women in Kabul. BBC News. Retrieved 16 August 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62532839

Working Group on Women, Peace and Security. (June 23, 2022).Gender Analysis of the Situation in Afghanistan. Retrieved 16 August 2022, from  https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/gender-analysis-situation-afghanistan-june-2022/