Situation Of Women And Girls In Afghanistan

One year after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, women and girls have been effectively removed from the Afghani public life. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and took control of the country. While initially, the Taliban promised that women would be able to “exercise their rights within Sharia law”, including being able to work and study, these promises were merely empty words and the women and girls began to disappear from the public square. As Angelina Jolie emphasized, “Overnight, 14 million Afghan women and girls lost their right to go to high school or university, their right to work, and their freedom of movement.” Ms. Sima Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, stressed that “[Afghanistan] is the only country in the world where girls are banned from going to high school.” She further added that “there are no women in the Taliban’s cabinet, no Ministry of Women’s Affairs, thereby effectively removing women’s right to political participation. Women are, for the most part, also restricted from working outside the home, and are required to cover their faces in public and to have a male chaperone when they travel.” As it stands, the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan is unlikely to change anytime soon.

Women were barred from most jobs outside the home. According to one of the restrictions imposed at the end of 2021, only women whose jobs could not be done by men were allowed to come to work, for example, limited jobs in education, health, and some policing jobs. According to the same announcement, the only jobs that women were allowed to do for the Kabul government was to clean female bathrooms. And indeed, to this day, women hold no cabinet positions in the de facto administration, or any other positions of power. The de facto administration abolished the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and by doing so, ultimately removed women from political participation. Women judges, prosecutors, and lawyers have fled the country or been sidelined and replaced by former Taliban fighters and madrasa graduates without any legal training.

The Taliban has banned girls from secondary education, grades 7-12. Contrary to prior commitments, the de facto authorities did not allow girls back to secondary schools. This affects over 1.1. million girls in Afghanistan. The UN reports that girls in some districts are able to attend schools, however, there is no universal access to education. Without access to such education, girls are at a higher risk of child marriage and abuse.

The Taliban imposed restrictions on women’s movement. In May 2022, the de facto authorities imposed a decree requiring women to wear Islamic hijab and fully cover their faces when outside. They were not to leave their homes unless it was necessary. If women were to breach the decree, their male relatives would be punished. As such, male relatives became responsible for enforcing the decree. Women are also banned from traveling long distances (more than 45 miles) without a male chaperone. Unchaperoned women are often denied access to essential services.

The Taliban have been responding with violence to women’s protests even though such protests are nowadays very rare. Women protesters have been facing threats, intimidation, arrests and torture. In August 2022, during a protest of some 40 women, the Taliban dispersed the crowds firing into the air.

The last year was a dark time for women and girls in Afghanistan. Women and girls in Afghanistan need the international community to continue fighting for their rights and put pressure on the de facto authorities in Afghanistan – to ensure future for the millions of women and girls deprived of this future at this moment.