Last year India’s Chandrayaan’s Lander Vikram landing on the moon was viewed live on television in India and across the word. The mission control room of the ISRO had a significant number of women space scientists who had contributed to the success of the mission. These women had worked tirelessly for 42 days continuously without seeing the comforts of home. No wonder their families and the Indian society have supported and encouraged these women and many others like them in various fields from medicine, nuclear science, judiciary, law enforcement, hospitality industry and aviation to defence forces. Around the same time, one also learned of the one of the many diktats of the Taliban banning Afghan women from visiting national parks based on the misplaced religious logic that sightseeing is not a must for women . The contrast between the two societies couldn’t have been starker- women in one aiming for the moon and in other being imprisoned in their homes, barred from venturing out even for sightseeing. But this diktat was nothing new as earlier the Taliban had already closed down beauty salons, unisex gyms and barred women from education and work. The return of the Taliban has abruptly withered away all gains of women empowerment and gender equality of the last 20 years in Afghanistan. While discussing this issue one cannot forget the liberty and equality of opportunities available to the women of Afghanistan during the reign of Nazir Shah in 1970s when they were free to dress as they wished, attend universities, work outside homes and had the agency to important decisions of life.
Revival of the Oppressive Phase
After the withdrawal of American troops, the Taliban seized complete control of Afghanistan by mid-August in 2021. Due to this, concerns arose about the protection of human rights and free society values. These concerns were particularly regarding the rights and freedoms of women across the country because the Taliban is historically known for their oppressive treatment of women during their previous regime. And since the takeover in 2021, the regime has imposed a series of restrictions on Afghan women’s day-to-day lives claiming that these steps have been taken to improve the lives of women in Afghanistan. After a ban on high school education, the Taliban has also banned girls and women from attending university. These actions will have long-term implications not just for women and their future but for Afghan society; what with half of the population unable to contribute to their country’s future. Why is it important to talk about this issue now? While the world over women are getting to take their own decisions representing in all fields of human endeavour and the Muslim women even going to space, the Afghan women who are sadly being kept shackled is nothing but a gross violation of their human rights as also a shame for the world that they appear so helpless to extend any help to these half of the Afghan population. And to top it all, this issue has been relegated to the backburner due to the events like the Ukraine and Gaza War.
Present Status of Women in Afghanistan
However, initially Afghan women did resist imposition of these restrictions with stories of secret underground schools coming up across the country. Basements, living rooms and bedrooms being transformed into spaces to continue educating girls but for the lack of support from within these efforts seem stifled. Also, this was not the end of oppressive restrictions. The Taliban has isolated women and tried to remove them from the public sphere entirely. Women are not allowed to work in public offices, the judiciary, international aid organisations, NGOs, including the United Nations Office in Afghanistan. The Taliban has also ordered, without any explanation, for all beauty salons to shut down. This action forced thousands of women out of work, for some of whom owning such businesses was the only source of livelihood. This also took away from the women few places they had left to socialize. Such policies have also spread to women’s healthcare services in many areas. Healthcare professionals and organisations providing reproductive health services have been targeted, leaving many women without access to healthcare.
In addition, the regime has imposed a very strict dress code upon women, which entails mandatory hijab and face coverings. Women are banned from entering parks, fairs, and gyms, and they are required to leave the house with a male chaperone (called a mahram). This leaves Afghan women completely dependent on male relatives. Any sort of protest against these policies or resisting the restrictions is met with imprisonment, disappearances, torture and worse. Afghan women and girls have been arrested and detained arbitrarily by Taliban members for so-called “moral crimes.” Women have lost mobility, autonomy and agency, and they have been relegated to lead a desultory life due to the regime’s systematic and institutionalized discrimination against women.
Therefore, there is a need to investigate this unlawful crackdown on women as a possible crime under international law, including the crime against humanity of gender persecution. All Nations who believe in gender equality should hold the Taliban administration accountable in the International Court of Justice for denying the right to equality to their women folk which is considered so fundamental in modern societies. But sadly, no nation has cared to do it.
The way Forward
A report by Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists highlights how the discriminatory restrictions Taliban has imposed violating human rights guarantees contained in numerous international treaties to which Afghanistan is a party . As per Agnes Callamard, a French human rights activist and Secretary General of Amnesty International, “The weight of evidence suggests that these measures reflect a policy of gender persecution that aims to obliterate the agency of women and girls in almost every aspect of their lives.” The report provides a legal assessment of why women and girls fleeing persecution in Afghanistan should be presumptively considered refugees in need of international protection.
When discussing how to advance women’s rights, all traditional tools such as imposing sanctions, publicly condemning the regime, threatening the withdrawal of aid, and negotiating by the international community have failed to yield any result. The Taliban is motivated by extremist ideology, and this is one of the reasons why the traditional tools of diplomacy have proved otiose. The international community must remember that agreeing to demands such as restoring women’s rights and promoting gender equality would undermine the Taliban’s ideology. According to a report by the Atlantic Council, “the Taliban’s extremist ideology feeds off the oppression of women,” and this faith and ideology is unshakable even despite condemnations from substantial aid donors. However, there is an imperative need to maintain this pressure through Afghan diaspora leaders, and experts engaged on critical issues and ensuring that the security implications of women’s oppression are at the Centre of all efforts to reclaim women’s rights in Afghanistan. In addition, media and technology can prove to be crucial in local mobilization. These should be utilized to disseminate information about the Taliban’s failure, coordinate mobilization, and provide educational resources. The war being waged by the Taliban on women and their rights and freedom needs greater attention and consideration by the international community.
Conclusion
Afghanistan is in dire economic state and Taliban is negotiating with nations and international organisations for grants and aids. They are negotiating with UN’s World Food Programme to tide over the shortage of food. Afghanistan has almost no industrial base; the Taliban therefore need trade in machines, finished goods and medicines from the world. The world must put strong conditions before any formal or informal engagement with the Taliban regime. The world cannot forget and ignore the plight of half of the Afghan population. The world must make any financial aid, grants or food aid conditional on improving the condition of the women and granting them equal rights. States like the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Turkey and Kazakhstan which are modern Muslim majority states are in better position to enforce conditionality owing to the socio religious affiliations with Afghanistan. The Jeddah based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation OIC must also leverage its influence to exploit the differences among the top leadership of Taliban over the issue of Women education and participation in daily activities. Afghan diaspora in the west should mobilize a groundswell of opinion against the Taliban. Western states should nominate only women delegations for any talks with Taliban regime on any issues whatsoever. Technology should be used to mobilize Afghan women to resist and protest against the curtailment of their rights to equality. The struggle, understandably, will not be easy but in a World where public sensitivities ebb and flow from news cycle to cycle is it too much to ask of the world to not forget the plight of the Afghan women and keep them in their prayers.
By Gayatri Singh
(The content of this article reflects the views of writers and contributors, not necessarily those of the publisher and editor. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only)
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