A few days ago, the Taliban held its first news conference since seizing control of Kabul whereby they declared that women are permitted to work under Taliban rule. This statement however has not done much to ease the fears that have arisen concerning the rights of women in Afghanistan.
The position of women in society going forward has come under enormous scrutiny in light of recent events as the Taliban’s previous rule of Afghanistan in the 1990s was largely defined by extremist ideologies that emphasised the subservient role of women. Women were required to completely cover up and wear Burka’s under Islamic law during this time.
Taliban rule was intent on ensuring that women had no autonomy or agency, so they also tried to inhibit women from acquiring education beyond the age of 10. Fundamentally, the Taliban restricted women from playing a functional role in society, so it comes as no surprise that numerous advocacy groups that champion women’s rights are sceptical towards this new rule.
The Taliban’s skewed interpretation of religion has historically resulted in the oppression of women, so doubts have inevitably been cast regarding the organisation’s claims that they’ve modernised and shed their violent past. Numerous reports of forced marriages, trafficking and violence have resulted in women being too frightened to leave their homes, so the future of Afghan women is inevitably uncertain.
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