Women in Taliban's Afghanistan

How many times have we glossed over news updates about wars in the middle-east or ignored the stories of the traumatic lives of families looking for refuge? Often it can be easier to shut ourselves off from news that doesn’t directly concern us, especially if it regards sensitive topics or political details that can be confusing. However, in light of recent events, we have seen real-life tragedies unfold as the Taliban takes control over Afghanistan. It is critical that we don’t just scroll past the headlines, but instead understand the suffering and pain of real people, real families, and real women that are behind the breaking news content.

Image Source: Clarissa Ward (American Journalist, CNN International Correspondent) on escaping Taliban's Afghanistan.

Afghanistan suffered its Soviet rule in the 70s by US-led forces and other oppressive groups like the Taliban. Arguably, Afghan women and the rights they once had suffered the most from the conflict.

It can be surprising to consider the image of women in 1970’s Afghanistan in miniskirts living in a relatively progressive country where the women's right to vote was gained before the US, and the 1964 constitution allowed women to become cabinet ministers and participate in the highest political positions of change. This Afghanistan encouraged education for young girls and strived to remove their tragic future of child marriages and dowries; given that this was one of the main objectives of the Democratic Organization of Afghan Women. We can only imagine the hope and progress, the political change could have sparked in Afghanistan now, as it had already begun doing in its urban areas in the 60s.

Image Source: Dangerous Minds showing women in 70s Afghanistan

Not only due to the communist Soviet invasion, but the emergence of the Taliban group in the 90s reduced rights for women to their lowest, sadly what Afghanistan had been known for at the peak of its conflict. Under the Taliban rule, women were not permitted to go to school, study, work, leave the house without a male chaperone, show their skin in public, access healthcare delivered by men, participate politically, or speak publicly. Ultimately, this meant restricting the value of women to domestic tasks to be done in silence. Opinions not voiced and all independence stripped away from them. These women were imprisoned in the domestic space, living robotic lives reminiscent of the freedom they once had and in fear of how they would be punished if they ever attempted to recreate it. What is arguably worse is that some of these girls were born never knowing how Afghanistan used to be, only ever aware of the violence and terror that would destroy it for decades to come. On November 27th, 2001, the UN began an intervention on Afghanistan in the hope for a more stable, transitional government; they were insistent on the 4 main representative groups from Afghanistan including women so that their concerns, silenced for so long, could be heard and adequately considered in their negotiations. The Agreement on Provisional Arrangements in Afghanistan was signed on December 5th, 2001, and the Taliban were ousted.

Following this, many women were finally allowed to return to schools for education or re-enter the world of work once again. But Afghan women are still suffering the reverberations of the conflict today. In 2011, Afghanistan was considered the most dangerous place in the world for women. In November 2020, reports of a car bombing in Ghazni claimed the lives of 30 security personnel, damaging civilian residencies and raising the tension between the government and the Taliban. Violence continues and progress is held back. But how much do we take into our hands to educate ourselves about it as spectators?

As we have all witnessed the violence, cruelty, and fear on the rise in Afghanistan as the Taliban once again takes control, what is our role and duty in times like this? Do we continue to ignore, and scroll past the headlines? Or, do we take a step forward, and offer a helping hand? Tens of thousands more are trying to leave the country as many Afghans, especially women and children, fear a resumption of Islamic fundamentalism under the Taliban (CNN, 2021). Refugee support is no longer a debate between nationalism or communism, it's about humanity. It’s about the value of human life. No one deserves to live in fear.

Legal resources for Afghans:

https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/legal-resources-for-afghans

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