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The Taliban, which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is an Afghan political and 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 after the September 11th attacks carried out by the Taliban's ally al-Qaeda. The Taliban 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.
The Afghan Times is an independent and online news outlet founded in August 2022. Operated primarily by Afghan women journalists, the publication focuses on human rights and women's issues. The outlet provides content in Pashto, Dari and English.
Zakia Zaki was an Afghan journalist for the Afghan Radio Peace (Sada-i-Sulh) station north of Kabul, Afghanistan. She had been given threats on account of her work and was killed at her home outside of Kabul in April 2007. Zaki was the first Afghani journalist to speak out against the Taliban after the US forces initiated the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), while she also championed other causes like gender equality and women's rights in Afghanistan. Her murder was seen as part of a series of recent attacks against high-profile Afghan women.
Women's rights in Afghanistan are severely restricted by the Taliban. In 2023, the United Nations termed Afghanistan as the world's most repressive country for women. Since the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban gradually imposed restrictions on women's freedom of movement, education, and employment. Women are banned from studying in secondary schools and universities, making Afghanistan the only country to prohibit females from studying beyond the sixth grade. Women are not allowed in parks, gyms, or beauty salons. They are forbidden from going outside for a walk or exercise, from speaking or showing any part of their face or body outside the home, or even from singing or reading from within their own homes if they could be heard by strangers outside. In extreme cases, women have reportedly been subjected to gang-rape and torture in Taliban prisons.
The mass media in Afghanistan is monitored by the Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC), and includes broadcasting, digital and printing. It is mainly in Dari and Pashto, the official languages of the nation. It was reported in 2019 that Afghanistan had over 107 TV stations and 284 radio stations, including 100s of print media and over 1,800 online media outlets. After the return of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in 2021, there was a concern that the mass media will significantly decrease in the country. The number of digital media outlets is steadily increasing with the help of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and other such online platforms. IEA's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid suggested that the media should be in line with Sharia and national interests.
Shukria Barakzai is an Afghan politician, journalist and Muslim feminist. She was the ambassador of Afghanistan to Norway. She is a recipient of the International Editor of the Year Award.
The Hazaras have long been the subjects of persecution in Afghanistan. The Hazaras are mostly from Afghanistan, primarily from the central regions of Afghanistan, known as Hazarajat. Significant communities of Hazara people also live in Quetta, Pakistan and in Mashad, Iran, as part of the Hazara and Afghan diasporas.
Jamila Mujahed is a journalist of Afghanistan.
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Niloofar Rahmani is the first female fixed-wing Air Force aviator in Afghanistan's history and the first female pilot in the Afghan Air Force since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Though her family received death threats, she persevered to complete her training and won the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award in 2015.
Latifa Nabizada is an Afghan helicopter pilot in the Afghan Air Force. She is one of the first two women pilots to serve in Afghanistan that were qualified to fly a Mi-17 helicopter. By 2013, she was a colonel in the new Afghan Air Force. Nabizada's own career in the Afghan military has inspired other women to join.
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Roya Rahmani is an Afghan diplomat who served as Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the United States and non-resident ambassador to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic from December 2018 to July 2021. She is currently the Chair of the international advisory company in development finance — Delphos International LTD. She is also a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, a senior advisor at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, and a senior fellow for international security at the New America Foundation. From 2016 to 2018, she served as Afghanistan's first female ambassador to Indonesia, first ever ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and non-resident ambassador to Singapore.
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On 15 August 2021, Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul was captured by the Taliban after a major insurgent offensive that began in May 2021. It was the final action of the War in Afghanistan, and marked a total victory for the Taliban. This led to the overthrowing of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan under President Ashraf Ghani and the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban.
Protests in Afghanistan against the Taliban started on 17 August 2021 following the Fall of Kabul to the Taliban. These protests are held by Islamic democrats and feminists. Both groups are against the treatment of women by the Taliban government, considering it as discriminatory and misogynistic. Supported by the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, the protesters also demand decentralization, multiculturalism, social justice, work, education, and food. There have been pro-Taliban counterprotests.
Zahra Joya is an Afghan journalist. She is the founder of Rukhshana Media, an outlet in Persian and English which she runs from exile.
Rada Akbar, is an Afghan-born conceptual artist, and photographer. The focus of her artwork has been to denounce the oppression of women, and ask the world to see the strength of Afghan women through her artwork and photographic portraits. She was chosen as one of the BBC's 100 most influential women of 2021.
Tamana Zaryab Paryani is an Afghan journalist and women's rights activist known for her protests against Taliban rule in Afghanistan. She is widely recognised as a symbol of the women's struggle in Afghanistan. In December 2022, Tamana was named as one of BBC's 100 Women. She is a member of an Afghan women's rights activist group Seekers of Justice. She fled Afghanistan in August 2022 and now lives in Germany.
References
- 1 2 "Female Afghan journalists continue their fight from abroad". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
- ↑ "Afghan female journalists in exile and founders of 'The Afghan Times' talk career and challenges". www.aipsmedia.com. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
- ↑ TG24, Sky (2024-06-20). "Come continua la lotta delle donne afghane: la storia di Salma". tg24.sky.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-07-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Being a woman under Taliban rule is like being 'sentenced to death in slow motion'". ABC News. 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
- ↑ "Saeedullah Safi: Three years ago Afghanistan fell to the Taliban and we had to flee the country we loved". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
- ↑ "Waiting for darkness to use the toilet: What life is like for women in flood-affected Afghanistan". ABC News. 2024-05-28. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
- ↑ Asia/Pacific, I. U. F. (2023-05-29). "The current situation of women workers in Afghanistan – a report by The Afghan Times for IUF Asia/Pacific". IUF Asia-Pacific. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
- ↑ "The Taliban will go to any lengths to silence Afghan women — but we will have our voices heard". ABC Religion & Ethics. 2024-09-12. Retrieved 2024-10-12.