As the civilised part of the world covertly converses and passively shows disdain about the Afghan Taliban's ban on educating girls over the age of 12 for more than 1,000 days, two important reports vis-à-vis Afghan women have come into the public domain. The Spectator reported on June 23 about the systematic sexual abuse of women by Taliban operatives and commanders in Taliban-controlled prisons. The crimes are related to physical and sexual abuse, and arbitrary killings of women imprisoned in three northern provinces of Jawzjan, Samangan, and Faryab. The second report, dated June 24, from Human Rights Watch discusses the complete sidelining of Afghan women from the Doha 3 summit and the UN nod to such a discriminatory step. This completely breaches United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, which seeks to confirm women's full participation in key international discussions.
It is not at all unknown that women and girls in Afghanistan bear the burden of organised repression of their rights and freedom, which they fight against every day. Taliban's exploitations deepen, violating the rights of Afghan women and girls to education, employment, health care, escape violence, and even just a walk down the street. According to Summary report of country-wide women's consultations, published in September, 2023, by the UN Women Afghanistan Country Office, "For most women, Taliban decrees were enforced with increasing severity and without exceptions, leading to a further retreat into the private sphere. Harassment, intimidation, and violence on the street by both Taliban and ordinary men are reportedly an increasingly common reality for women who are seen as defying decrees."
Afghan women are kidnapped, raped, battered, maimed, forcefully wedded, arrested, lashed and murdered by the Taliban. Moreover, they are also suffering at the psychological level, displaying symptoms including depression, anxiety, insomnia, fear, suicidal thoughts, loss of hope and motivation, aggression, and increasingly isolationist behaviour.
The Taliban's previous rule from 1996 to 2001 had caused horrific harm to Afghan women. The earlier regime was infamous for terrorising Afghan women in every possible way, be it stoning, lashing, public executions, and sexual violence. In Kabul, residents were ordered to cover their ground and first-floor windows so women inside could not be seen from the street. Afghan women were dehumanised under the law and in nearly every aspect of their daily life. The men of their family or clan or tribe could commit violence, injure and even kill the female. This time around, the Taliban 2.0, in a more treacherous avatar, is normalising violence against women. There is no doubt that gender-based violence is deep-rooted in human civilisation. Every society and state in this world has experienced such cruelty in some way or another and still struggles against it. What makes the Taliban's rigid and horrid treatment of women different is their justification in the name of Islam. The Taliban's version of Islam and Sharia law are completely anti-women. This vicious version was formed to demonstrate the power of each and every Taliban operative, who has once again marked out his territory in each locality, village, district, city and province of Afghanistan. The extreme interpretation of the Taliban and the anti-women dictates are stifling the female population.
Under the pretext of protecting and honouring these norms and customary laws, the Taliban have once again started a storm to proclaim their power and presence over the female population of Afghanistan
When the West abandoned Afghanistan and its 20-year commitment to rebuilding the war-torn country, they left the Afghan women and girls at the mercy of the murderous Taliban regime. Since the August 15, 2021, Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, women and girls have lost rights and freedom and there is a long list of Taliban decree depriving them of fundamental human rights.
For instance:
- In September 2021, the Taliban replaced the Ministry of Women's Affairs with the notorious Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which was disbanded in 2001.
- In December 2021, the Taliban announced that women weren't allowed to travel more than 70 kilometres without a Mahram - a male relative who chaperones them- to escort them.
- In May 2022, the Taliban ordered all women to observe "proper hijab", preferably by wearing a chadari (burka), a loose black garment covering the body and face, in public and made male relatives responsible for enforcing the ban or face punishment.
- In August 2022, the Taliban established the women's morality police department, specifically going after women to implement their rules and edicts.
- In December 2022, the Ministry of Higher Education issued a written order to public and private universities, suspending female education until further notice.
- In March 2023, Taliban's Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada vowed to start stoning women to death in public.
Factors contributing to violence against the Afghan female population include the culture of impunity, normalisation of gender-based violence, failure to deal decisively with perpetrators, traditional patterns of marriage, illiteracy and low levels of public awareness, corruption and abuse of state positions, women's limited access to justice; and the lack of security.
Moreover, Pashtunwali -"the way of life of the Pashtuns" - also restricts the spatial existence of women in Afghanistan. The code of Pashtunwali is based on chivalry (ghayrat or nang), honour (izzat), hospitality (melmastia), gender boundaries (purdah or namus), and council (Jirga), the legislative authority in the public domain. Purdah and Namus are compulsory components of Pashtunwali that are related to the honour of the family, especially, of women. According to the code, the sexual honour and general conduct of females are crucial elements of male honour. Regrettably, under the pretext of protecting and honouring these norms and customary laws, the Taliban have once again started a storm to proclaim their power and presence over the female population of Afghanistan. The faces of Afghan women are increasingly disappearing, both literally and metaphorically, from the public domain.
In one stroke, the Taliban 2.0 have completely reversed the hard-earned progress made by Afghan women and girls in two decades
Female journalists and television anchors are not allowed to show their faces. The restrictions imposed on media organisations don't end with prohibiting women's faces. They also include censorship of content related to women's issues, or any content the Taliban deem is critical of their regime. Furthermore, by barring women from working in various fields, including NGOs and government offices, the Taliban are not only depriving them of access to critical finances but also hindering access to essential healthcare services.
Besides, the Taliban's ban on girls' education hampers the future of female healthcare workers, continuing the shortage of healthcare availability. Restrictions on female healthcare workers, such as compulsory accompaniment by a male guardian (mahram), also obstruct healthcare delivery. The lack of access to vital healthcare services has led to distressing circumstances for female patients and pregnant mothers. Taliban's apathy towards women is at the cost of their life and existence. Taliban's laws and edits are non-negotiables even if the female population becomes insignificant.
In the 20 years between the two Taliban regimes, women had made significant progress in many fields. By 2020, 21% of Afghan civil servants were women (compared with almost none during the Taliban years), 16% of them in senior management levels, and 27% of Afghan members of parliament were women. Also, female enrollment in secondary education grew from 6% in 2003 to 39% in 2017. Women's life expectancy also grew from 56 years in 2001 to 66 in 2017. Yet, in one stroke, the Taliban 2.0 have completely reversed the hard-earned progress made by Afghan women and girls. The Taliban is steadily dismantling all that was achieved by the unfortunate women of this wretched land.
It is difficult to quantify the degree of abuse and harassment experienced by Afghan women, as most of the cases go unreported. The Taliban is on an unyielding task to erase women from the political, economic, and societal discourse of Afghanistan.