Treatment of women by the Taliban

While in power in Afghanistan, the Taliban became known for their misogyny and violence against women. Now that the Taliban has most of Afghanistan again, there are many concerns.^[1]

Women in Afghanistan had to wear the burqa in public at all times.^[2] Women were not allowed to work, they were not allowed to be educated after the age of 8, and until then were only allowed to study the Qur'an.^[3]

Women wanting an education had to attend underground schools, where they and their teachers risked execution if caught.^[4][5] The Taliban allowed marriage for girls under the age of 16. Amnesty International reported that 80% of Afghan marriages were forced.^[6]

Since they came to power again in 2021, the Taliban have restricted the liberty of women. This has affected the possibility of women to work, or to attend schools, or higher education. In December 2021, the Taliban restricted the ability for women to travel longer distances, without being acccompanied by a male family member.^[7] For this, a government minister of neighboring Pakistan has critizied them, calling them an extremist regime: "We want to fully help the people of Afghanistan. But saying that women can’t travel alone or go to schools and colleges — this kind of a retrogressive thinking is a threat to Pakistan."^[8]

On December 20, 2022, the Taliban banned female students from attending higher education with immediate effect.^[9][10][11] This was against the promises they had given earlier. The next day, December 21, 2022, the Taliban banned all girls and women from education; this included female staff or teachers in schools. Being a teacher was one of the last few jobs women were allowed to take.^[12] There are also reports that women who used to work in government jobs previously are being paid to sit at home.^[13]

Healthcare also became worse. At first, male doctors were allowed to treat women in hospitals, but the decree that no male doctor should be allowed to touch the body of a woman under the pretext of consultation was soon introduced.^[14] With fewer female health professionals, many women have to travel longer distances to get treatment; there are also fewer clinics that offer checks during pregnancy.^[15]

After the Taliban takeover, female healthcare workers reported safety issues and being harassed by the Taliban. Maternal health care conditions declined and many doctors reported that infant and child mortality had increased.^[16]

In November 2022, women were banned from gyms, public baths, public parks, and amusement parks.^[17][18]

While Abdul Baqi Haqqani, the Minister for Higher Education until October 2022, was favourable for women to attend Universities, his successor Neda Mohammad Nadeem opposes University education for women.^[19]

In February 2023, The Guardian reported that the Taliban began to restrict access to contraceptives. They ordered pharmacies to clear their stocks of birth control medicine and threatened midwives. In Kabul, Taliban fighters stated that "contraceptive use and family planning is a western agenda".^[20]

In July 2023, Taliban banned women’s beauty parlours in Afghanistan. Parlours which were already operating were given a time limit of 1 month to shut down.^[21]

Other websites

• Afghanistan: A journey through Taliban country - a half hour documentary, by France 24, Published 11.6.2021

References

1. Trofimov, Yaroslav (15 August 2021). "Afghanistan Government Collapses as Taliban Take Kabul". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
2. M. J., Gohari (1999). "Women and the Taliban Rule". The Taliban: Ascent to Power. Karachi: Oxford University Press. pp. 108–110. ISBN 0-19-579560-1.
3. Israr, Hasan (2011). "The Rise of Radicals". The Conflict Within Islam: Expressing Religion Through Politics. Bloomington: iUniverse. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-4620-8301-5.
4. Synovitz, Ron (31 March 2004). "Afghanistan: Author Awaits Happy Ending To 'Sewing Circles Of Herat'". Radio Free Europe. Archived from the original on 8 July 2004. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
5. Lamb, Christina (13 November 2005). "Woman poet 'slain for her verse'". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
6. "A Woman Among Warlords: Women's Rights in the Taliban and Post-Taliban Eras". PBS. 11 September 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2014. The Taliban's policies also extended to matrimony, permitting and in some cases encouraging the marriages of girls under the age of 16. Amnesty International reported that 80 percent of Afghan marriages were considered to be by force.
7. "Taliban Further Restrict Afghan Women With New Travel Rules". VOANews. December 26, 2021.
8. "Pakistan Slams Taliban Curbs on Afghan Women". VOANews. December 27, 2021.
9. Greenfield, Charlotte; Yawar, Mohammad Yunus (December 20, 2022). "Taliban-led Afghan administration suspends women from universities". Reuters. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
10. "Afghanistan: Taliban ban women from universities amid condemnation". BBC. December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
11. Popalzai, Ehsan; Kottasová, Ivana (December 20, 2022). "Taliban suspend university education for women in Afghanistan". CNN. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
12. Engel Rasmussen, Sune (December 21, 2022). "Afghanistan's Taliban Ban All Education for Girls". Retrieved December 22, 2022.
13. What women in Afghanistan want you to know | Start Here, retrieved 2023-09-22
14. Latifa (2001). My Forbidden Face: Growing up under the Taliban. New York: Hyperion. pp. 29–107. ISBN 0-7868-6901-1.
15. Marsden, Peter (1998). "The gender policies of the Taliban". The Taliban: War, Religion and the New Order in Afghanistan. London: Zed Books. pp. 88–101. ISBN 1-85649-522-1.
16. "Report: Afghan Maternal Health Care in 'Crisis'". U.S. News. November 1, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
17. Delaney, Matt (13 November 2022). "Taliban bars Afghan women from going to gyms, public baths". The Washington Times. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
18. "Taliban issues new diktat, after parks now Afghan women can't enter gyms too". India Today. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
19. Hadid, Diaa (21 December 2022). "Taliban begins to enforce education ban, leaving Afghan women with tears and anger". NPR. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
20. Janjua, Haroon (2023-02-17). "Taliban fighters stop chemists selling contraception". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
21. "Taliban bans women's beauty parlours in Afghanistan". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-09-22.