The country of Afghanistan is led by the Taliban. The Taliban can be described as an ultraconservative political and religious faction. There is a lot more to their history, but their draconian methods such as public executions for adultery, the cutting off of limbs of those found guilty of theft, and the near exclusion of women from public life, make living under their rule quite stiffling.
According to the Feminist Majority Foundation:
The Taliban claimed to follow a pure, fundamentalist Islamic ideology, yet the oppression they perpeterated against women had no basis in Islam. Within Islam, women are allowed to earn and control their own money, and to participate in public life.
In December 2022, reports came out that the Taliban forbade women from attending university effective immediately. Girls have already been banned from attending middle and high school, so this was a continuation of the oppression of women in Afganistan.
Education allows a person to develop into a well-rounded individual who is able to understand the world around them, and thus change the world around them. I think that gets to the reason why the Taliban has made taking education away from girls and women a pillar of their rule. It’s a threat to their rule.
August 2022 marked the one year anniversary of Taliban rule after the U.S. left the year before after occupying Afghanistan for the past 20 years. To mark that date, the U.N. interviewed Afghan women about their experiences. Considering all that has happened after these interviews were given, their words are more indispensable when it comes to understanding what life is like for girls and women in Afghanistan. (*denotes name change for protection)
“Women cannot go to work; they have no rights; they cannot even go to school. Violence at home is now normalized and some women are committing suicide–the last resort when their situation becomes unbearable.”
Nasima*, 36, a peacebuilder and women’s right activist, Afghanistan
“Women who were sole wage-earners have lost their employment–this is impacting their mental health. Schools are closed for girls–they feel like they have been robbed of their hopes. It is also becoming harder to engage men in community to protect women against harmful practices and social norms.”
Najiba*, 45, a mother, former university lecturer, current counselor who helps women heal from trauma, Afghanistan
Mahbouba Sera, a prominent Afghan women’s rights activist and journalist said:
“The women of Afghanistan went from existence–from being part of society, from working, from being part of every aspect of life as doctors, judges, nurses, engineers, women running offices–to nothing. Everything they had, even the most basic right to go to high school, was taken away from them. That to me is an indication that they do not want us to exist…
Mahbouba seraj
…There is one point I want to make very clear: what is happening to the women of Afghanistan can happen anywhere. [The U.S. Supreme Court overturning of] Roe v. Wade destroyed years of progress, taking away the rights of women over their own bodies. Women’s rights being taken away from them is happening everywhere and if we are not careful, it will happen to all women of the world.”
I think that’s important. Given the history of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and that of Taliban rule, the people of the world should not give up on the girls and women of Afghanistan.
Shining a light on injustice helps to hold those responsible accountable, but it also gives victims and survivors power in letting them know they are not alone, that they are not forgotten.
The solution to this is not easy. Structural problems require structural solutions. But while we are debating and organizing, we must continue to speak out against injustice when it arises because as Dr. King said:
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
I don’t have to be an Afghan woman to call out the unjust ways their government is treating them. I’m a fellow human being on this planet and I want us all to be free.
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