On August 30, 2021, the US military ended its 20-year occupation and withdrew from Afghanistan. Now, with the Taliban back in power, the hard-won freedoms women have enjoyed in less than two decades have all but disappeared. Journalist Isobel Yeung delves into the current plight of women in Afghanistan and how they live under harsh Taliban rule.
The Taliban is an Islamic fundamentalist group that emerged in Afghanistan in the early 1990s after decades of war with the Soviet Union. Because of the trauma and displacement they experienced during the war, many Afghan freedom fighters found refuge in the Taliban’s harsh religious beliefs and rhetoric. They slowly organized, pacified the country’s rural areas, and by 1996 took control of the government.
From 1996 to 2001, Taliban leaders enforced extremely strict Sharia law. They banned other religions, TV, movies, and music. The worst affected are women and girls, who are no longer allowed to work or apprentice. They must follow a strict dress code and wear a burqa. They are not allowed to use public transport and require a male family member to accompany them in public. Women have no rights and are completely at the mercy of their husbands and other male family members.
That changed in 2001 when the Americans occupied Afghanistan, hiding Osama bin Laden. For 20 years, the Taliban have been insurgents, battling global militaries and newly formed, more democratic governments. Women now work and study, and even serve in government as politicians, judges, and diplomats. But in 2021, the Americans, like the Soviets, lost control and fled.
The new government promised to respect women and give them freedom. However, Taliban leaders appear to eliminate women and girls from public life through sexism and violence based on their interpretation of Sharia law. There are no longer any women in government or judicial positions.
Women are no longer allowed to work except in exceptional circumstances (mainly the medical profession), and girls over the age of 11 go to school longer. They are also unable to successfully report crimes against them, such as spousal abuse because Taliban-appointed Sharia judges are biased against them. Young himself witnessed a judge side with an abusive husband who swore to his wife that he had not harmed her while the wife proved the abuse with X-rays and medical reports.
The ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country exacerbates the situation. The Afghan economy has come to a standstill due to economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations. Every day hundreds of children die from malnutrition, while women and children have little or no access to medical and other health services. Had they survived, it appeared their future would be bleak, cementing Afghanistan’s title as “the worst place in the world to live for women”.
