Taliban Ban

Abstract

This article discusses the Taliban's recent ban on women's education and employment in Afghanistan. The ban is a continuation of the Taliban's oppressive policies against women and girls, which includes forcing them to wear burqas and denying them basic human rights. The article highlights the devastating effects the ban will have on Afghanistan's economy, as well as the mental health of women students who are denied the opportunity to pursue higher education. The role of a free press in exposing human rights violations is also discussed, with a focus on the challenges faced by journalists and activists in Taliban-led Afghanistan. The article concludes by calling on the international community to come together and fight against the Taliban's oppressive regime.

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On August 15, 2021, the capital city of Kabul was captured by the Taliban, effectively ending the country's resistance movement and giving the Taliban complete control of Afghanistan. As the Taliban advanced deeper into Afghanistan using a blend of military strategy, discussions with local leaders, and propaganda, the Afghan government and military tried to preserve order.

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The Taliban's treatment of women is well-known for being harsh and oppressive. Under their 1990s dictatorship, women were not allowed to work outside the house or attend school past the age of eight. They could only leave their homes with a male relative and could not expose their faces. Recently, Taliban chief Haibatullah Akhunzada issued an order mandating that women wear a chador (head-to-toe burqa) as it is "traditional and respectful." This is proof that the Taliban is interpreting the Quran and Islamic traditions in a way that further increases the hardships of women and strips them of their basic human rights.

Another devastating blow to Afghan women's and girls' rights, and a continuation of the Taliban's deliberately discriminatory policies, is the Taliban's prohibition on women attending universities. This will have a disastrous effect on Afghanistan, a nation where 97% of the population lives in poverty, and it will move the world further away from reaching UN Global Goal 5 for gender equality. According to estimates from the UN Development Program (UNDP), limiting women's employment might cost Afghanistan's GDP up to 5%. According to Amnesty International, there has been a sharp rise in the number of women detained for disobeying discriminatory laws, such as those mandating women to wear full-body coverings and to only appear in public with male chaperones. Moreover, the number of child marriages has grown. All of these are only leading to the downfall of the country.

A woman named Shabnam Nasimi, a lecturer in Afghanistan, tweeted a video of a group of female students crying in agony in her office, as they were told they could no longer continue their education. The video is exceptionally heart-wrenching and appalling. In response to this, many male students walked out of their exams leaving their papers blank, and many other male professors also quit their jobs. The citizens have thus united against the unjust policies of the regime, targeted at degrading the position of women. These protests, however, are quickly shut down by the security forces of the Taliban, and the people of Afghanistan are again pushed into their dark and despairing fate. This will not change unless the world’s leading countries come together to fight the regime and establish a government in the country. Chris Lu, the UN's representative for UN management and reform, criticized the restriction and encouraged the Taliban to abolish it immediately. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and several other Islamic nations and organizations have also denounced the restriction on women's and girls' access to employment and education as a breach of Islamic law. However, these condemnations have not been enough to force the Taliban to change their minds and have thus been ineffective.

After fighting an insurgency against the Kabul-based government that is supported by the United States since 2001, the Islamic fundamentalist organization returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. The Taliban pose a danger to Afghans’ civil and political rights, which are codified in the constitution drafted by the government with U.S. support. The Taliban have acted in a manner reminiscent of their ruthless rule in the late 1990s since reclaiming power. They have oppressed women's rights and ignored essential services throughout their brutal rule. Nothing has changed much between their last and present takeover, as women are still the ones to suffer the most under the ruthless regime.

As a result of this intense tyranny, Afghan women's mental health has suffered tremendously. Following the Taliban's takeover, women students in Afghanistan have been found to exhibit severe PTSD symptoms. Additionally, depression, suicidal ideation, and a lack of positive mental health and social support were reported. The study that reported the aforementioned findings surveyed a group of highly educated female Afghans. This implies that one of the primary reasons why the mental health of women students deteriorated was because they were denied the opportunity to pursue higher education.

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The role of a free press and transparent media is crucial during a human rights crisis in any country. A free press serves as a watchdog, reporting on abuses of power and exposing human rights violations. It can play a critical role in holding governments accountable and providing a voice for marginalized communities. During a human rights crisis, a free press can help to raise awareness and generate public pressure to address the situation. It can provide a platform for affected individuals and communities to share their stories, which can in turn help to build empathy and solidarity among the wider population. However, this has not been possible in Taliban-led Afghanistan because, despite promises of an “independent” media, journalists and activists have faced brutal torture, physical and mental abuse, and unjustified detentions. As a result, several aristocracies committed by the Taliban against women have gone unreported and hence are not apparent to the rest of the world.

*This article is authored by Disha Singh & Suhani Gupta, Students from Symbiosis Law School, Noida and reviewed by Sparsh Narayan, Student from Symbiosis Law School, Noida.