The Plight Of Afghan Women: A Story Of Resilience And Oppression

Women in Afghanistan have faced oppression and a lack of respect for their human rights for decades. The situation has deteriorated since the Taliban took power in August 2021, with women and girls experiencing a rollback of their rights to self-determination and progress made over the previous 20 years. Under the Taliban, women have faced severe restrictions on their freedom of movement and expression, limited access to education and employment, forced marriages, and a lack of protection from violence. They are also expected to adhere to restrictive dress codes, such as wearing the burqa in public. While the treatment of women varies across Afghanistan, with some women enjoying greater freedoms in urban areas, overall, the country has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, and women face high rates of domestic violence and other human rights abuses.

Women's rights in Afghanistan are not respected: restricted freedom of movement, restrictive dress codes, no protection from violence, forced marriage

Women's Rights in Afghanistan

Women's rights in Afghanistan are not respected. They face restricted freedom of movement, oppressive dress codes, a lack of protection from violence, and forced marriage.

Restricted Freedom of Movement

Women in Afghanistan are not allowed to move around in public spaces unless they are accompanied by a male relative, known as a mahram. They are only permitted to leave their homes for essential reasons and must wear a full veil when they do so. These restrictions have been enforced through intimidation and inspections.

Restrictive Dress Codes

The Taliban dictate what women must wear. They are required to wear a burqa and a long dress, and are not allowed to wear high heels or sandals. These rules are enforced through inspections and punishment.

No Protection from Violence

The Taliban have dismantled the institutional framework that previously provided support for survivors of gender-based violence. There are now almost no contact points for survivors of sexualised violence, and safe houses have been forced to close. The Taliban have also systematically released prisoners who were imprisoned for committing acts of gender-based violence.

Forced Marriage

Even before the Taliban's victory, one in three girls were being forced into marriage before their 18th birthday. This number has continued to increase, as parents marry off their young daughters in return for a dowry to avoid starvation. The Taliban have also been known to force families to give them their unmarried daughters as brides.

Women in Afghanistan are deprived of livelihoods and identity

Women in Afghanistan have been deprived of their livelihoods and identity under the Taliban rule. The Taliban's policies have created huge barriers to women's health, education, freedom of movement, expression, and association. The Taliban's restrictions have compounded the financial crisis for women, and the financial crisis has decimated even paid work within the home. The Taliban's restrictions on women's access to technology harm their access to information, including health information.

The Taliban's restrictions on women's livelihoods and identity include:

• Banning women and girls from secondary and higher education, and altering the curriculum to focus more on religious studies.
• Dictating what women must wear, how they should travel, workplace segregation by sex, and what kind of cell phones women should have.
• Dismantling the formal police force and the Women's Affairs Ministry.
• Extorting money and food from communities.
• Targeting for intimidation women who worked for foreign organizations and the previous Afghan government.
• Imposing restrictions on women's access to technology, such as limiting women to simple Nokia phones that don't have many options.
• Prohibiting women from working in certain sectors, such as the UN or non-governmental organizations.
• Restricting women's freedom of movement, including requiring women to be accompanied by a male relative when travelling.

Women in Afghanistan face barriers to healthcare

Access to healthcare professionals

Even before the Taliban takeover, women in Afghanistan were already struggling to receive adequate healthcare. A report by Human Rights Watch in May 2021 found that there was an "unmet need" for modern forms of contraception, and that prenatal and postnatal care, cancer treatment, and pap smears were often unavailable or non-existent.

Since the Taliban took control, the regime has cracked down on women's rights, with accounts of women being arrested and detained for leaving home without a male guardian. This has impacted women's ability to seek medical care. A report by Amnesty International scrutinising the treatment of women under the Taliban regime found that infringements on women's freedom complicated their access to healthcare.

Travel restrictions

Travel restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women have also made it difficult for them to seek healthcare. Women are not allowed to travel more than 45 miles without a male relative as an escort, and almost 10% of the population has to travel more than 2 hours to reach a medical facility. This means that women without a male guardian may not be able to visit a healthcare professional.

Lack of female healthcare professionals

The Taliban's restrictions on women's education will also impact the country's supply of female healthcare professionals in the future. In the short term, this has meant that women are only allowed to be treated by female doctors in some cases, further limiting their access to healthcare.

Economic factors

The economic crisis in Afghanistan has also impacted household finances, with many people unable to afford medical care. The World Bank and other international bodies froze much of their financial assistance to Afghanistan after the Taliban took control, and the country's economy, which is based on cash transactions, was brought to a halt.

Healthcare system collapse

The combination of economic collapse, lack of sustained donor support, and Taliban interference with human rights has severely compromised access to healthcare. The UN estimates that 95% of the population does not have enough food, leading to serious increases in child malnutrition.

Attacks on healthcare facilities

In the first half of 2021, the Taliban's attacks on healthcare facilities left 12 health workers dead and 26 buildings damaged. Essential health facilities, medications, and vaccinations were scarce.

Women in Afghanistan are excluded from public life

Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, women have been excluded from public life. In the two years since, the Taliban have issued 80 edicts, 54 of which directly target women and girls.

The rollbacks began immediately, with the Taliban ordering women to stay at home because their foot soldiers were "not familiar with seeing women outside the house and were not trained to respect women".

Women are banned from travelling long distances without a male chaperone, and unchaperoned women are increasingly being denied access to essential services. They are also barred from working in most jobs outside the home, and from working in NGO offices.

The Taliban has also abolished the Ministry of Women's Affairs, effectively eliminating women's right to political participation. There are no women in the new Afghan government.

Women are banned from entering amusement parks, public baths, gyms and sports clubs. They have been banned from attending school past the sixth grade, and from tertiary education.

The cumulative effect of the Taliban's edicts and behaviours has largely resulted in the imprisonment of women within the walls of their homes.

Women in Afghanistan are forced to wear the burqa

The Burqa as a Symbol of Oppression

The blue burqa has become an icon of the oppression of Afghanistan's women, as they were forced to wear it in public during the Taliban's previous rule. The burqa is a full-body and face cover that allows women to see only through a small grille. The Taliban's enforcement of the burqa symbolises their suppression of women's rights and freedom.

The Taliban's Return to Power

In 2021, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, and women's fears of losing their freedoms became a reality. The Taliban issued a series of decrees restricting women's rights, including the mandatory wearing of the burqa in public. This rollback of women's rights erased two decades of progress and returned Afghanistan to a state of oppression and control over women's lives.

The Impact of the Burqa Decree

The Taliban's decree states that all women must cover themselves from head to toe, with only their eyes visible, and recommends the wearing of the burqa. Women are allowed to wear a full hijab as an alternative, but the burqa is preferred. This restriction on women's dress is part of a broader system of controls that activists have labelled "gender apartheid".

Enforcement and Punishment

Compliance with the burqa decree is the responsibility of women's male relatives or guardians. Non-compliance results in punishment, with men facing prison or fines if their female relatives repeatedly flout the directive. This dynamic further entrenches the power of men over women in Afghanistan and makes women dependent on the actions of their male guardians for their freedom.

Resistance and Defiance

Despite the Taliban's decree, some Afghan women have resisted and defied the requirement to wear the burqa. Habiba, a 26-year-old university student, refuses to wear the burqa, stating that doing so would mean accepting the Taliban's control over her. She is willing to risk losing her independence and freedom rather than submit to the Taliban's demands.

International Condemnation

The Taliban's burqa mandate has been met with international condemnation and outrage. Human rights organisations, activists, and foreign governments have spoken out against this restriction on women's rights. The United Nations, the European Union, and the State Department have all expressed concern and emphasised the need to protect women's rights in Afghanistan.

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