The Veiled Truth: Uncovering Afghan Women's Rights In Afghanistan

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the country has become the most repressive in the world for women and girls, deprived of virtually all their basic rights. Women and girls have been banned from attending secondary school, working, appearing on TV, or even going to a park. They are also banned from travelling long distances without a male chaperone and are increasingly being denied access to essential services. Decades of progress on gender equality and women's rights have been wiped out in mere months.

Women's freedom of movement is restricted

Women in Afghanistan have had their rights severely restricted since the Taliban took power in August 2021. One of the most notable restrictions is the limit on their freedom of movement. Women are not allowed to move around in public spaces unless they are accompanied by a male relative, known as a 'mahram'. In general, they are only allowed to leave their homes for urgent matters and must wear full veils if they do so.

Restricted Movement

Women are banned from travelling long distances without a male chaperone. The distance they are permitted to travel alone varies, with some sources stating that they are not allowed to travel more than 70-75km without a mahram, while others suggest that they are not allowed to travel at all without one.

Restricted Access to Public Spaces

Women are banned from entering amusement parks, public baths, gyms, and sports clubs. They are also banned from working in most jobs outside the home and are not allowed to work in national and international non-governmental organisations.

Restricted Access to Education

The Taliban have banned girls from attending secondary school and women from attending university. They have also banned women from appearing on TV and even going to the park.

Restricted Dress

The Taliban have imposed a strict dress code on women, requiring them to wear full-body coverings when in public. They must wear either a burqa or an abaya paired with a niqab, which leaves only the eyes uncovered.

Impact of Restricted Movement

The restrictions on women's freedom of movement have had a significant impact on their lives. Many women feel isolated and suffocated, living in prison-like conditions. They are unable to meet their basic needs without access to employment or aid. They also face increased difficulty accessing medical healthcare and psychological support, particularly for victims of violence.

International Response

The United Nations has declared Afghanistan the most repressive country in the world for women, with the Taliban showing an almost "singular focus on imposing rules that leave most women and girls effectively trapped in their homes." The international community has urged the Taliban to respect women's rights and take action to protect Afghan women.

Women are forced to adhere to restrictive dress codes

Women in Afghanistan are forced to adhere to a restrictive dress code imposed by the Taliban. The dress code requires women to wear a hijab, chadori (blue-coloured Afghan burqa or full-body veil), or a long black veil that covers them from head to toe. Women are only allowed to show their eyes, and their clothing must be loose-fitting and not tight. They are also required to wear gloves to ensure their hands are covered.

The Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced that it is "required for all respectable Afghan women to wear a hijab". The ministry identified the chadori as the "best hijab" and stated that any garment covering the body of a woman is considered a hijab, as long as it is not tight or thin enough to reveal the body.

The Taliban has justified these restrictions by claiming that they are necessary for women to "live with dignity and safety". However, these dress codes have been met with widespread condemnation and outrage by Afghan women and activists. They argue that the Taliban is reducing women to objects that are being sexualised and that the restrictions are a violation of their right to freedom of choice and movement.

The restrictions on women's dress are part of a broader set of repressive policies imposed by the Taliban that have limited women's access to education, employment, and public life. The Taliban has also banned girls from attending school past the sixth grade and barred women from working most jobs outside the home.

The enforcement of these restrictive dress codes has serious consequences for women who do not comply. Women who violate the dress code risk punishment, including imprisonment for their male relatives or guardians. The Taliban has also instructed workplaces to fire female employees who do not follow the dress code.

The dress code restrictions have had a significant impact on the daily lives of Afghan women, limiting their freedom of movement and expression. They are often forced to rely on male relatives or guardians for transportation and accompaniment in public spaces.

Women are not protected from violence

Women in Afghanistan are not protected from violence. The Taliban's severe restrictions and unlawful crackdown on women's rights should be investigated as possible crimes under international law. The Taliban's treatment of women and girls amounts to the crime against humanity of gender persecution.

Women in Afghanistan face rising levels of domestic violence, abuse, and exploitation. There are almost no contact points for survivors of sexualised violence to turn to. The nationwide system of support built up by women's rights activists has almost entirely collapsed. Safe houses have had to close, and staff offering protection and advice are subject to threats and often have to work undercover.

The Taliban's anti-women policies, combined with an emboldened patriarchal system, have made Afghanistan the lowest-ranked country in the 2023 Women, Peace and Security Index. The Taliban's justice system is a nightmarish ordeal for victims of domestic abuse. Perpetrators routinely go unprosecuted in Taliban courts, allowing abusive Afghan men to no longer fear repercussions for the harm they cause.

Afghan women are treated as second-class citizens, with no agency over decisions about their own bodies and lives. The mental toll has been enormous, with a surge in suicide attempts among Afghan women and girls. They now account for three out of every four suicides and suicide attempts in the country.

The Taliban's policies have also led to a resurgence in other forms of gender-based violence. Financial hardship further compounds the challenges faced by women, with the prevalence of underage and forced marriages on a significant uptick. The dismal state of the Afghan economy, along with the lack of education for girls, has compelled families to wed their daughters out of perceived economic necessity. Furthermore, there is a disturbing trend of marrying young girls to much older men.

The Taliban's dissolution of the institutional framework of support for survivors of gender-based violence has further undermined the rights of Afghan women and girls. The Taliban's strict dress code, which requires women to cover their faces in public, also violates women's freedom of movement and freedom to choose what to wear in public.

Afghan women and girls have been arbitrarily arrested and detained by Taliban members for so-called "moral crimes" as a result of infringing the de facto authorities' discriminatory mahram restrictions. Women who have protested against the Taliban's abusive and restrictive policies have faced excessive force, unlawful arrests, torture, and other ill-treatment to ensure their compliance, leading to violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and public participation.

The cumulative effect of these impositions is a stifling environment where women's voices are devalued, their rights are curtailed, and their overall well-being is compromised.

Women are banned from working in certain sectors

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, women have been banned from working in certain sectors. The Taliban have imposed a series of restrictions on Afghan women, banning them from working in both the public and private sectors. This includes banning women from working in national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as the United Nations (UN).

In December 2022, the Taliban banned Afghan women from working with domestic and international aid groups and NGOs. This ban has had severe consequences for the delivery of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, as women are often the ones delivering it to other women. The UN itself was banned from employing Afghan women in April 2023, affecting around 400 women and causing the UN to halt its operations in the country.

Afghan women have also been banned from working in the education and healthcare sectors. Female teachers and students have been banned from secondary schools and universities, and female doctors have been banned from treating male patients or working with male colleagues.

The restrictions on women's employment under the Taliban have pushed many families deeper into poverty. Women who previously worked in professional jobs have lost their incomes and are now unable to support their families. This has resulted in rising poverty and hunger in the country, with half of Afghanistan's population facing acute food insecurity.

The Taliban's justifications for these bans include the claim that women were not wearing the Islamic headscarf correctly and that gender segregation rules were not being followed. However, the bans have been widely criticised by the international community as a violation of women's human rights and have led to calls for the Taliban to be held accountable.

Women are banned from education beyond primary school

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, women and girls have been banned from receiving an education beyond primary school. This ban has been enforced by the Taliban despite their initial promises to respect women's rights within the framework of Sharia law.

The ban on education for women and girls in Afghanistan has had a devastating impact on their lives and futures. Women and girls are now prohibited from attending secondary school, college, or university. They are also barred from working in most jobs, appearing on TV, or even going to a park. The hard-fought gains in equality and human rights for Afghan women over the last twenty years are being steadily dismantled by the Taliban.

The right to education is a basic human right, enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention against Discrimination in Education, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By denying women and girls access to education, the Taliban are violating their basic human rights and confining them to their homes, effectively erasing them from public and social life.

The impact of the ban on education for women and girls in Afghanistan goes beyond their inability to attend school or university. It also affects their mental health, with reports of girls exhibiting signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. The lack of education will also have long-term implications for the social and economic fabric of Afghan society, as half of the population will be unable to contribute to the country's future.

The Taliban's justification for the ban on girls' education is that it does not comply with their interpretation of Islamic law or Sharia. However, there is a consensus among clerics outside Afghanistan that Islam places equal emphasis on the education of both females and males. The Taliban's perspective on girls' education is influenced by a specific school of 19th-century Islamic thought and rural areas where tribalism is entrenched.

The international community has largely turned its attention away from the dire situation in Afghanistan, focusing instead on atrocities in Ukraine and elsewhere. It is crucial for the international community to continue to spotlight the Taliban's abuses against Afghanistan's women and girls and to pressure the Taliban to respect women's rights and allow them access to education and public life.

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