On the International Day of the Girl Child, we would like to draw attention to the lives of Afghan women and girls under the Taliban regime.
The Taliban have once again seized control of the Afghan government, replacing the one that had been elected by the people, and many women and girls are worried that the whole country will go back to the times when they could not enjoy their basic human rights. Not long after the Taliban captured Kabul in 1996, they ordered that all women should be banned from employment. As a result, primary education of all children, not only girls, was shut down in Kabul, where virtually all of the teachers had been women. On top of that, women and girls were completely banned from school under Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001.
Over the past 20 years, progress has been made on the number of girls receiving education in Afghanistan, but since the Taliban seized control of the country in August, attacks on schools have dramatically increased while international support has slowly been withdrawn. There are fears that 1 million children will miss out on education. The Taliban have said they would not prevent women from being educated or employed, but as they came into power in August, they asked all women to stay away from work, claiming it to be a temporary measure for ‘security reasons.’ However, based on their previous experience under the Taliban regime, women are worried that this temporary measure will quickly become permanent and women will not be allowed to leave their home without a male guardian, or ‘mahram’.
In September, the Taliban announced new rules for female students. Afghan universities will be segregated by sex, and a new dress code will be introduced. Girls and boys will also be segregated at primary and secondary schools, which was already a common phenomenon all across the country. Women will be required to wear hijabs but additional face coverings might also be made compulsory.
The Higher Education Minister also announced a review of the subjects students would be taught, saying they want to make sure that the curriculum is in line with Islamic values. Many women are worried as the new rules are likely to exclude women from education because the universities do not have the resources to provide separate classes. Private universities will need to adhere to strict and financially demanding rules, such as the one that states women must be provided with transport in buses with covered windows and a curtain separating them from the male driver. Also, the new rules require that women must be confined to a ‘waiting room’ before and between classes to ensure that they are separated from men. Female students and teachers are only allowed to wear black clothing. As a result of these new rules, many women have already given up on their education.
The Taliban’s new government has replaced the Women’s Affairs Ministry with the Ministry of Vice and Virtue. This is the very same department that was responsible for deploying religious police to the streets to enforce Sharia law during the Taliban’s previous rule. They imposed cruel punishments on women for dressing ‘immodestly’ and being outside without a male guardian.
Now Afghanistan’s women and girls are anxiously waiting to see how their lives will change under Taliban rule. Fears remain that despite all the effort and gains, life in Afghanistan will go back 20 years in time.