The Shadow Over Afghan Women: Understanding The Taliban's Restrictions

The Taliban's treatment of women has been described as gender apartheid. The group enforces its interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, which has resulted in the oppression of women's rights in Afghanistan.

Under the Taliban, women and girls are discriminated against in many ways. They are banned from: attending school, studying, and working; leaving the house without a male chaperone; showing their skin in public; accessing healthcare delivered by men; and being involved in politics or speaking publicly. They are essentially invisible in public life, imprisoned in their homes.

The Taliban's restrictions on women's rights are a demonstration of the group's power and willingness to use violence. The restrictions also appeal to conservative Afghans, particularly men, who support the Taliban's promise to return to traditional values, in which women are subordinate to their male relatives.

The Taliban's restrictions have real-world consequences. For example, Afghanistan is one of the world's most dangerous countries for women, mothers, and babies. Each year, about 70 out of 1,000 women die while pregnant or giving birth.

The Taliban restrict women's freedom of movement, including their ability to leave the house without a male chaperone

The Taliban's restrictions on women's freedom of movement are part of a series of measures to enforce the group's heterodox conservatism. Women are banned from travelling more than 45 miles (72km) without a male chaperone, or 'mahram'. This restriction was imposed in August 2021, when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

The Taliban's treatment of women has been internationally condemned as misogynistic and violent. During their first rule of Afghanistan (1996-2001), the Taliban were notorious for their mistreatment of women, who were banned from working, receiving an education past the age of eight, and leaving the house without a male chaperone. Women were also forbidden from receiving treatment from male doctors unless accompanied by a male relative.

Since their return to power, the Taliban have reimposed many of these restrictions. Women are banned from secondary and higher education, and from working in most sectors. They are also banned from travelling without a male chaperone, and from entering public spaces such as parks, gyms and swimming pools.

The Taliban's restrictions on women's freedom of movement have been justified as necessary for security, and as a means of enforcing their interpretation of Islamic law. However, these restrictions have been widely criticised as oppressive and harmful to women and girls in Afghanistan. The UN has described the Taliban's treatment of women as "gender apartheid", and has warned that it will have a devastating impact on the country's future.

Women are banned from education and workplaces, including universities and NGOs

The Taliban's restrictions on women's rights are a combination of ideological and political choices. The group adheres to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic society, which involves a strict version of Sharia law.

In practice, this has meant that women and girls are banned from education and workplaces, including universities and NGOs. In December 2022, the Taliban issued edicts banning women from universities and working for NGOs. This has had a devastating impact on women's rights and freedoms, as well as causing practical issues for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The Taliban's restrictions on women's education are near-total. Girls are banned from attending secondary schools, and since December 2022, women are no longer allowed to study at universities. There are some courses that continue via online teaching, but female students are not permitted to take examinations. This means that girls and women are at a far higher risk of exploitation, maltreatment, and early marriage.

The employment prospects for women have also been decimated by Taliban rule. Women have been banned from working with the UN or NGOs, leading several international organisations to pause or cease operations in Afghanistan. Women are also forbidden from working with men who are not relatives, and they are not allowed to travel without a male chaperone. This has resulted in thousands of female government employees losing their jobs, and many families are now struggling to feed themselves.

The Taliban's justifications for these restrictions are ideological, based on their interpretation of Islamic law and their desire to return to traditional" values, where women are subordinate to men. However, these restrictions also serve a political purpose, demonstrating the Taliban's power and ability to control public spaces.

The impact of these restrictions on women's lives is clear. Women's rights activists report detentions, child marriages, forced marriages, and rapes. Women are no longer allowed to play sports, and female TV presenters have been forced to cover their faces while on air. Women's freedom of movement is restricted, and they are only allowed to leave the house for urgent matters, wearing a full veil.

Women are banned from playing sports and visiting public spaces such as parks, gyms and pools

Women in Afghanistan have been banned from playing sports and visiting public spaces such as parks, gyms and pools. This is part of a series of escalating moves by the Taliban to enforce their interpretation of Islamic law.

The Taliban's deputy head of the cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, said that women's sport was "not necessary" and "not appropriate". He added that it was "not necessary that women should play cricket" and that it was against Islam for women to be seen in a way that exposed their bodies.

The Taliban's restrictions on women's sport have put Afghanistan's standing in the sporting world at risk. The International Cricket Council requires countries to have women's teams to qualify for full membership, a status Afghanistan reached in 2017.

The Taliban's ban on women visiting public spaces such as parks, gyms and pools is part of a wider rollback of women's rights since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Women have also been banned from secondary and higher education, most fields of employment, and from appearing on TV.

The Taliban has justified the ban on women visiting public spaces by saying that gender segregation orders were being ignored and that women were not wearing the required headscarf, or hijab. Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, Mohammed Akef Mohajer, said that the group had "tried its best" to avoid closing parks and gyms for women, but that "unfortunately, the orders were not obeyed and the rules were violated".

The ban has been condemned by the UN special representative in Afghanistan for women, Alison Davidian, who said that it was an "example of the Taliban's continued and systematic erasure of women from public life".

Women are excluded from the job market and face severe restrictions on their ability to work, including a ban on working with the UN or NGOs

The Taliban's restrictions on women's rights in Afghanistan have been internationally condemned as "gender apartheid". The group has banned women from working with the UN or NGOs, severely restricting their ability to work. This has led to the suspension of operations by major international aid agencies, threatening the delivery of critical services to millions of Afghans.

The Taliban's ban on women working with NGOs was announced on 24 December 2022, barring women from working in international and national non-governmental organisations. This was part of a series of measures that rolled back women's rights, including banning girls and women from attending universities.

The ban has been widely criticised by the international community, with the UN aid chief, Martin Griffiths, meeting with Taliban officials to push for the ban to be relaxed. The UN has also stated that the ban will have "catastrophic consequences" and will "push women out of jobs".

The ban has had a significant impact on the delivery of aid in Afghanistan. Women aid workers are critical in the delivery of aid to women and girls, who may not have contact with men who are strangers to them. The ban has also led to the suspension of operations by major international aid agencies, including Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and CARE.

The ban has also had a severe impact on the women affected. One woman, who had been the sole earner for her family, said: "I had many dreams and many big goals in life; dreams and goals vanished before our own eyes". Another woman, who had been working in the government, said: "I had many dreams, wanted to continue studying and working. I was thinking of doing my master's".

The ban has also had a wider impact on the Afghan economy. Women's employment levels have fallen steeply since the Taliban took power, with female employment down 25% in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the second quarter of 2021.

Women's access to healthcare is restricted, including a lack of access to female doctors

Since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, women have faced severe restrictions on their access to healthcare. The Taliban's interpretation of Islamic Sharia law has meant that women are only allowed to be treated by female doctors, and even then, they must be accompanied by a male chaperone. This has led to illnesses going untreated, as there are too few female doctors, especially in rural areas.

The Taliban's restrictions on women's freedom of movement have made it difficult for women to travel to healthcare facilities. Women are not allowed to travel more than 45 miles without a male relative, and even then, they may not feel comfortable discussing certain health issues in front of their chaperone. This has been exacerbated by the Taliban's ban on women working with NGOs, as several NGOs have had to cease operations in Afghanistan, and by the fact that many healthcare professionals have left the country.

The Taliban's rules on how women should dress have also impacted their access to healthcare. Women are required to wear a burqa, a garment that covers the entire body, and if they do not comply, their male relatives risk jail time. This has made it difficult for female doctors to work, as it is hard to practise medicine while wearing a burqa.

The Taliban's restrictions on women's education have also impacted their access to healthcare. Girls are banned from attending secondary school, and women are banned from university. This has meant that there is a shortage of female healthcare professionals, and the situation will only get worse as there are no women graduating from high school or entering training programs.

The Taliban's rules have also impacted the ability of female healthcare workers to do their jobs. Female doctors have been ordered to stop treating male patients, and one nurse at a government hospital in Kabul said she was slapped in the face and threatened with a gun by Taliban officials when she refused to stop wearing her uniform.

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