How the Taliban Abolished Women's Rights and Education

2022-12-21T10:50:16.959Z

A look back at the timeline of the repression of women in Afghanistan since August 2021 Life under Taliban rule is increasingly difficult, especially for women. Hundreds of young women were prevented by armed guards from entering university campuses in Afghanistan on Wednesday. Since returning to power 16 months ago, the Taliban have slowly returned to their uncompromising stance on freedom and women's rights. They claim their rules are in line with their interpretation of Islam, des

Life under Taliban rule is increasingly difficult, especially for women.

Hundreds of young women were prevented by armed guards from entering university campuses in Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Since returning to power 16 months ago, the Taliban have slowly returned to their uncompromising stance on freedom and women's rights.

They claim their rules are in line with their interpretation of Islam, despite Afghanistan being the only Muslim country to ban girls' education.

Back to the chronology of their repression of women, their first victims.

August 2021: the return of the Taliban

The Taliban regain power in Kabul on August 15 in the chaotic final withdrawal of US-led foreign troops, ending a 20-year war and precipitating the collapse of the Western-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani .

The hard-line Islamist group promises a looser regime than when it was first in power, from 1996 to 2001, saying it will uphold human rights obligations, including those of women.

September 2021: classes separated by gender

The Taliban announced on September 12 that women could attend universities whose entrances and classrooms were separated by sex, but that they could only receive lessons from professors of the same sex or from elderly men.

Other restrictions include wearing the hijab as part of a mandatory dress code.

March 2022: girls prevented from going to school

On March 23, secondary schools for girls were supposed to reopen, but the Taliban rescinded the directive and tens of thousands of teenage girls were barred and forced to stay home.

May 2022: stay home

On May 7, Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered women to cover themselves fully, including their faces, in public and to stay mostly at home.

It is also forbidden for women to travel in cities without being accompanied by a man.

August 2022: the demonstrations are dispersed

On August 13, Taliban fighters beat protesters who were chanting “bread, work and freedom” and fired into the air to disperse a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Education in Kabul.

Extremist Islamists also arrested and beat journalists covering the protests.

November 2022: prohibited parks

Women are prohibited from entering parks, fairgrounds, gymnasiums and public baths.

December 2022: execution, flogging

The Taliban are carrying out their first public execution since their return to power, that of a convicted murderer who was shot dead on December 7 by the father of his victim in the western province of Farah.

The following day, more than 1,000 people witnessed the flogging of 27 Afghans, including women, in Charikar, in the central province of Parwan, for a series of offenses ranging from sodomy and adultery to forgery and debauchery.

Public floggings have since been regularly practiced in other provinces.

December 2022: no university for women

Armed guards prevent hundreds of young women from entering university campuses on December 21, the day after a terse statement from the Minister of Higher Education announcing an order 'suspending women's education until further notice' .

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Afghanistan: Taliban ban girls from going to university