Women out of universities, and all the ridiculous bans that Taliban 2.0 has imposed in a year
Ever since taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, Taliban has ignored half of its population and violated women's rights. From compulsory hijab to banning female education at most levels, the Islamic fundamentalists have made the life of women in the country a living hell.
On Tuesday, December 20, the Taliban's Education Minister announced that it has banned women from universities in Afghanistan. This comes as a big blow for Afghan women as last year the Taliban had already banned high school education for women.
- Experts believe that this move can be marked as the beginning of the smothering of women's rights further, as till now the Taliban 2.0 was at least pretending to be moderate from the 1990's Taliban government (previous Taliban's take over in the 1990s).
- In the past few weeks, the Taliban has reinstated Shariah law, carried out public floggings across the country and conducted one public execution.
- Despite the fact that limitations on women's bodies and movements have begun to tighten, education is not the only arena where the Taliban has imposed restrictions on women's bodies and movements. There are also other regulations that regard women as second-class citizens.
- Any violation of these laws would result in the imprisonment of the woman or her male relative.
Check out some of them:
Cannot use public transport alone: If you are a woman in Afghanistan you cannot take public transport until and unless you are accompanied by a male relative, who is classed as a 'mahram'.
Dress Code: The struggle for what women wear is not new in history. From Iran (compulsory hijab) to France (banned hijab) it is problematic when the government decides what women can wear. Now in the case of Afghanistan, the Taliban has made it compulsory for women to always cover their bodies with veils if they go out, and first off, the movement of women is also restricted. They can only go out, for urgent matters. News presenters are fully veiled during the broadcast.
No political participation: Medicamondiale is an organisation that overlooks the rights of women in war zones. Ever since its takeover, it has abolished the Ministry of Women's Affairs and has Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice which enforces the misogynist decrees of the regime (similar to morality police in Iran).
Child marriages and forced marriages: Medicamondiale reports that the rate of child marriages is rapidly increasing in the country, as families are forcefully marrying their daughters early to protect them from the possibility of being forced to marry a Taliban fighter.
Data on women's condition in Afghanistan?