The Taliban are erasing women from public life |
The call by many heads of state to end human rights violations often rings hollow as the violators in so many countries continue to commit such crimes with impunity. When will the international community wake up to the scourge of human rights violations?
Human rights violations are a global scourge that have engulfed scores of countries on every continent. It appears as though violating human rights is a game in which governments of all national stripes take pleasure and even try to outdo each other in their horrifically gross violations. Tragically, Afghanistan stands out as the one country that egregiously violates women’s rights beyond the pale of anyone’s capacity to grasp.
Conditions for women in Afghanistan are worsening despite global outrage. Since the Taliban assumed power in 2021, they have systematically been stripping women and girls of their fundamental rights, violating every moral principle. Under the Taliban, women have been effectively erased from public life, and virtually every aspect of their lives has come under severe restrictions. According to the UN, “the oppression that Afghan women and girls are experiencing…. is unmatched in terms of scale and generational impact.” The Taliban claims this is dignity under Sharia law when it is nothing but gender persecution, a blatant crime against humanity.
As of June 2024, over one million girls have been banned from secondary school, and over 100,000 from university. This prohibition on access to schooling and higher education has grave intergenerational consequences, not only for women and girls, but also for the country’s future and development.
With rare exceptions, women in Afghanistan are not free to work, nor travel any significant distance without a male accompanying them. The ban on employment outside the home is especially devastating for widowed women who are alone and thus unable to feed their families. Many are reduced to begging in the streets.
When in public, women must adhere to a strict dress code that includes a full-body covering, such as a burqa, which covers the woman from head to toe, leaving a small opening for the eyes, even though Islam does not........