15 August 2023 marked two years of the fall of Kabul when the Taliban seized the capital, capturing the government in Afghanistan in 2021.
While the Afghan government tried to ward off the assault for the longest time, the inevitable took place, leaving many sections of society devastated. Among them were women who knew what the Taliban takeover would mean for their freedom.
“We are going to allow women to study and work within our framework. Women are going to be very active in our society,”, the Taliban had promised in their first press conference following their takeover. But as many feared, these words never became a reality.
So, what have the Afghan girls and women endured since 15 August 2021?
In March 2022, a ban on girls’ secondary education was imposed moments after the education ministry reopened schools for both girls and boys. The ban further barred girls from joining universities.
Women were denied entry in the job market. This includes exclusion from NGOs as well as the government sector. Ban on beauty salons left women even more helpless. While Afghanistan’s economy has been in shambles, families have been struggling to make ends meet and with women’s exclusion from the job market, especially sole breadwinners like widows or single mothers, are in serious financial crisis. Out of options and desperation, some women have resorted to the profession of nursing and midwifery just to escape the four walls of their house and earn.
Not only Afghan women cannot leave their house without a male chaperone (a mahram), but it is mandatory for them to wear burqas. They are also not allowed to wear make-up or heels, and are barred from accessing public places such as parks, gyms, marketplace etc.
Having nothing to do with their lives as a result of numerous socio-political restrictions, young girls are forced into marriage. Others are sold in order to cover finances or compensate for debts. Parents fear for their daughters’ lives as they often know little about the families they are married into or sold to, but they find themselves to be powerless.
There is a sense of fear and trauma amongst young girls and women which is leading to mental health issues.
Following the takeover, valiant Afghan women have, nonetheless, taken their fight to the streets and have protested time and again. Resultantly, they have been threatened and even beaten, but two years on, their anger trumps fear and their struggle continues.
