It is Today Four Years Since the Taliban Regained Power in Afghanistan. Everyone in the Country Suffers Under the Authoritarian Regime of the Jihadists, But No One More So Than Women and Girls.
After the Taliban Regained Power in 2021, They Promised a Lot of Improvements Compared to Their Reign of Terror Between 1996 and 2001.
Girls would be allowed to go to school, Women’s Rights would be respected, and there would be freedom of the press.
“The Group Made Many of Those Promises Because They They They would come to power Through Negotiations,” Says Ibraheem Bahiss from the Afghan Capital Kabul to NU.nl. He is An Analyst at Think Tank Crisis Group.
Instead, there was a military takeover. This cool the hardliners Within the Taliban the Wind in Their Sails. “They didn’t see anything in the earlier commits,” Says Bahiss.
‘Women are Denied Access to Public Life’
“The Oppression of Women and Girls is Huge and Only Increasing,” Says Rachel Reid, expert at Think Tank Afghanistan Analysts Network.
For Example, Girls Are No Longer Allowed to Attend School from the Sixth Grade Onards, And The Lesson’s They Receive Up To That Time Are “Very Limited.” Women Can Hardly Work Anywhere because Women and Men are Separated Everywhere, Including in The Workplace. In Addition, there are Travel RestRictions. Women are not allowed to go outside without a male companion, which, accordance to human rights watch, limits their access to aid and health care.
Last year, a so-called virtue law was introduced. It States that women are not allowed to sing or recite texts in public and that they must cover themelves in the vicinity of unfamiliar men. “They are denied access to public life,” concludes reid.
In Addition, The Legal System in Afghanistan there is also in Poor Condition. “After Four Years of Taliban Rule, a Legal System Remains That is very grandpaque and compulsive and prioritizes obedience about Rights, and Silence about Truth,” Says Samira Hamidi or Amnesty International.
Constant Fear of Violating (Invisible) Rule
The restrictions Imposed on Women, Accordance to Reid, Cause Constant Fear of violating a rule, or which you are sometimes not equally sure if it exists. “There are constantly people watching. Women are flogged if they do something,” she explains. “We see, Among other things, abuse, torture, sexual violence, and women who in prison.”
Such Information Comes out Little by Little because Afghans are intimidated Into Keeping Quiet About Such Matters. Accordance to reporters without borders , Afghanistan Ranks 175 out of 180 on the press freedom index. Some Human Rights Organizations Sometimes Manage to get some Information out, but that is Becoming Increasingly Difficult for Them as Well.
Reid is also Concerned About Boys. They Mainly Attend Religious Schools, Where they are Taught Accordination to Sharia Law. “In Addition, Men also have restrictions on how they may dress or how they may wear their hair and beard.”
Yet there is a miniscule glimmer of hope. Bahiss Notes in Kabul that there is a differentence between the rules on paper and the reality on the street. “You see a wave movement: Women occasionally move back into public space. That goes well for a while. And then there is another period when the morality police surdening because to enforce the rules. That alternates continuously.”
What is Sharia?
Many People Associate Sharia with Corporal Punishment and the Mandatory Wearing of a Burqa. But that is usual not the case. Sharia is a collection of rules of Islam, for example about how to fast and pray.
Sharia is interpreted Differently Everywhere, or Much More Loosely than by the Taliban. There, the ultra-Orthodox variant is Maintined, Such as Limiting Rights for Women and Girls, Strict Dress Codes, And Public Executions.
‘They know we’re watching them’
For the time being, Nothing Seems to Change About the Human Rights Violations That Take Place, Concludes Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Organizations Have Called on UN Member States to take Measures, But Little Has Been Done About this. “The Taliban Have Ties with Russia, China, Pakistan and Other Neighboring Countries, But The United States and the European Union Have No Influence on Theme,” Says Reid.
Accordance to Bahiss, the us and the eu would Therefore be wise to at least lines to the taliban. “Then you don’t normalize the group, but you can see if there are ways to get the taliban moving on certain points,” Says the expert.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) Recently Issued judgment Warrants for the Highest Leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and Chief Justice Hakim Haqqani. They are wanted for the persecution of women and girls. “With this, the ICC is sending a strong political signal that afghanistan has not leg loans,” Says Reid.
Yet we are not rid of the Taliban for the time being, Bahiss Expects. “You see a consensus emerging that the taliban are preferable to more chaos in Afghanistan. That could, for example, set off another stream of refugees. At Least there is some stability now. But that is at the Expense of Women in particular.”