Hosai Ahmadzai | |
---|---|
Born | Afghanistan |
Occupation | television news anchor |
Awards | 100 Women (BBC) (2023) |
Hosai Ahmadzai is an Afghan news anchor. She was one of only two female news anchors in Afghanistan in the days after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan following the fall of Kabul in 2021. Ahmadzai was included in the list of BBC 100 Women in 2023. [1]
Ahmadzai has a law and political science background and has been working in the media since 2016. She focuses on females' education, which the Taliban has severely limited. As one of the few female news anchors in Afghanistan, Ahmadzai continued to broadcast when the Taliban took over the country in August 2021. [2] Despite concerns about her safety and societal opposition to women in the media, she carried on with her work at Shamshad TV. Since then, Ahmadzai has spoken with a number of Taliban representatives, but she is limited in the questions she may ask them. Recognising her bravery, she was included to the list of BBC 100 Women in November 2023. [3]
The Taliban, which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is an Afghan militant movement with an ideology comprising elements of Pashtun nationalism and the Deobandi movement of Islamic fundamentalism. It ruled approximately 75% of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, before it was overthrown by an American invasion. It recaptured Kabul in August 2021 following the departure of coalition forces, after 20 years of Taliban insurgency, and now controls the entire country. The Taliban government is not recognized by any country and has been internationally condemned for restricting human rights, including women's rights to work and have an education.
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.
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