The treatment of women by the Taliban refers to actions and policies by two distinct Taliban regimes in Afghanistan which are either specific or highly commented upon,mostly due to discrimination,since they first took control in 1996. During their first rule of Afghanistan,the Taliban were notorious internationally for their misogyny and violence against women. In 1996,women were mandated to wear the burqa at all times in public. In a systematic segregation sometimes referred to as gender apartheid,women were not allowed to work,nor were they allowed to be educated after the age of eight. Women seeking an education were forced to attend underground schools,where they and their teachers risked execution if caught. They were not allowed to be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a male chaperone,which led to illnesses remaining untreated. They faced public flogging and execution for violations of the Taliban's laws.
Wardak,also called Wardag is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan,located in the central region of Afghanistan. It is divided into eight districts and has a population of approximately 500,000. The capital of the province is Maidan Shar,while the most populous district in the province is Saydabad District. Wardak is known for one of its famous high peak mountain known as. In 2021,the Taliban gained control of the province during the 2021 Taliban offensive.
Dr. Massouda Jalal is the first woman in the history of Afghanistan who ran for the Office of the President of Afghanistan in 2002,2004,and again in 2019. Dr. Jalal emerged as a leading voice of Afghan women after her election as the Representative to the 2002 Loya Jirga as she became one of the frontrunners for the position of Interim President of Afghanistan,opposite to ex-president Hamid Karzai.
Sibghatullah Mojaddedi was an Afghan politician,who served as Acting President after the fall of Mohammad Najibullah's government in April 1992. He was the first leader to call for armed resistance against the Soviet-backed regime in 1979 and founded the Afghan National Liberation Front at the time;later becoming a respected figure among the various Afghan mujahideen. He served as the chairman of the 2003 loya jirga that approved Afghanistan's new constitution. In 2005,he was appointed chairman of the Meshrano Jirga,upper house of the National Assembly of Afghanistan,and was reappointed as a member in 2011. He also served on the Afghan High Peace Council. Mojaddedi is considered to have been a moderate leader.
Education in Afghanistan includes K–12 and higher education,which is under the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education. In 2021,there were nearly 10 million students and 220,000 teachers in Afghanistan. The nation still requires more schools and teachers. Soon after the Taliban take took the country in August 2021,they banned girls from secondary education. Some provinces still allow secondary education for girls despite the ban. In December 2022,the Taliban government also prohibited university education for females in Afghanistan,sparking protests and international condemnation. In December 2023,investigations were being held by the United Nations into the claim that Afghan girls of all ages were allowed to study at religious schools. As of November 2024,some parts of the country allow women to attend religious schools to pursue dentistry,nursing,and other subjects.
The Iceland Crisis Response Unit is an Icelandic para-military unit with a capacity roster of up to 200 people,of whom about 30 are active at any given time. It is operated by the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is primarily designated for peacekeeping operations and was established in the 1990s to participate in operations and peacekeeping projects,including in support of NATO peacekeeping operations. That role later evolved into providing an appropriate forum for deploying personnel within other organizations such as with OSCE field missions as well as with UN DPKO,and organizations such as UNIFEM,UNRWA and UNICEF.
Sima Samar is a Hazara human rights advocate,activist and medical doctor within national and international forums,who served as Minister of Women's Affairs of Afghanistan from December 2001 to 2003. She is the former Chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and,from 2005 to 2009,United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan. In 2012,she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "her longstanding and courageous dedication to human rights,especially the rights of women,in one of the most complex and dangerous regions in the world."
Ramazan Bashardost is an Afghan politician who was the former planning minister in Afghanistan and a former member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan. He was an independent candidate in the 2009 Afghan presidential election.
The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is the state agency in charge of implementing Islamic law in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as defined by the Taliban. It was first instituted in 1992 by the Rabbani government of the Islamic State of Afghanistan and adopted in 1996 by the Taliban government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan of 1996–2001. The ministry was restored in the reinstated Islamic Emirate in September 2021 after the August fall of Kabul.
Anahita Ratebzad was an Afghan socialist and Marxist-Leninist politician and a member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and vice-president of the Revolutionary Council under the leadership of Babrak Karmal. One of the first women elected to the Afghan parliament,Ratebzad was deputy head of state from 1980 to 1986.
Hamida Barmaki was a renowned Afghan law professor and human rights activist. She was killed together with her family in a suicide attack.
Qadriya Yazdanparast is an Afghan politician and a commissioner at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. Before joining the human rights commission she resigned from her leadership position at the Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan,a major political party,in order to fulfill the requirement of a commissioner to be non-political. She started her career during the Soviet–Afghan War. She studied jurisprudence and political science at Kabul University. Yazdanparast speaks Pashto,Dari,Dutch and English.
The second Karzai cabinet was the cabinet of Afghanistan that led the government from the re-election of president Hamid Karzai in 2009 until the end of his term in 2014. The cabinet consisted of the president,his two vice-presidents,18 ministers who received approval from the Afghan Parliament,and 7 acting ministers who have not been approved.
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Indonesia established diplomatic relations on 20 May 1950. The relationship is mostly founded on common religious solidarity,as Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim majority country,and Afghanistan is also a Muslim-majority country. Indonesia has expressed its commitment to support and assist the rebuilding of Post-Taliban Afghanistan in various sectors,including technical training,infrastructure,women's empowerment,higher education,and diplomat training. Indonesia has an embassy in Kabul,while Afghanistan has an embassy in Jakarta. Both nations are full members of Non-Aligned Movement and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Amina Bouayach is a Moroccan human rights activist. Since December 2018,Bouayach has served as the president of the Moroccan National Human Rights Council. In this role,she affirmed in 2019 that there are no "political prisoners in Morocco."
Adela Raz is an Afghan politician who was the last ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United States from July 2021 to February 2022. She was also the first woman to serve as Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations.
Protests in Afghanistan held by Islamic democrats and feminists against the treatment of women by the Taliban began on 17 August 2021,following the fall of Kabul. Supported by the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan,the protesters also demanded decentralization,multiculturalism,social justice,labor,education,and food. Pro-Taliban counterprotests also took place.
On 15 August 2021,the city of Kabul,the capital of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,was captured by Taliban forces during the 2021 Taliban offensive,concluding the War in Afghanistan that began in 2001. The fall of Kabul provoked a range of reactions across the globe,including debates on whether to recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan,on the humanitarian situation in the country,on the outcome of the War,and the role of military interventionism in world affairs.
The Taliban has ruled Afghanistan as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since taking control by force in 2021,overthrowing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The takeover was widely criticized by the international community,and no countries have extended de jure diplomatic recognition to the new regime,despite nominally maintaining relations with Afghanistan. The Taliban has campaigned for international recognition since the takeover. Several countries have vowed never to recognize the Islamic Emirate,and others have said they will do so only if human rights in the country are respected. Some countries have accredited Taliban diplomats at the chargéd'affaires level despite not recognizing the Islamic Emirate. In September 2023,the People's Republic of China became the first country to formally name a new ambassador to the country since the takeover,and in January 2024 recognized the Taliban's envoy to China;however,the PRC still does not formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The United Arab Emirates also accepted a Taliban appointed diplomat as Afghanistan's new ambassador in August 2024.
Soraya Rahim Sobhrang is an Afghan politician,physician,and human rights activist who has served as the commissioner of women's rights of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.
