Challenging Gender Apartheid: The Taliban's Stance and the Struggle for Women's Rights in Afghanistan
“In Afghanistan, unprecedented, systemic attacks on women’s and girls’ rights and the flouting of international obligations are creating gender-based apartheid.”
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, 12 January 2023.
Imagine a world where gender dictates every aspect of your life – from your education to your ability to work, move or even exist in public spaces. For millions of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, this is the grim reality. Think about how you would respond if your rights were stripped from you simply because of gender, Would you stay silent, resist or fight back?
Since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in August 2021, the human rights of women and girls have been systematically restricted. This is termed “Gender Apartheid”, coined by Sima Samar and other Afghan women during the first Taliban regime in the 1990s. Never had they imagined that it would become a key weapon to fight the second Taliban regime two decades later.
On August 15th, 2021 the Taliban took control of Kabul and declared Afghanistan an “Islamic Emirates” led by a supreme leader. On the same day, they ordered the closure of all girls’
secondary and high schools, formalising this directive with an official decree a month later. An interim caretaker government was set up on the 7th of September, consisting solely of male Taliban members, hailing predominantly from the Pashtun community. The UN has not recognised this administration and is called the de facto authority. Representatives from other communities and ethnic groups were also added on the 22nd of September but none were women. The Taliban abolished the Ministry for Women’s Affairs and declared that the building would house the Ministry of Vice and Virtue. Ironically, this is the ministry that is charged with enforcing the Taliban’s interpretation of the Sharia which has issued 36 Sharia-based decrees that violate the basic rights of women and girls. Many of these decrees specify so-called acceptable behaviours for women, such as segregation from men, dress code, and the requirement for women to be accompanied by a male chaperone when travelling more than 72 kilometres from home. It has been advised that women must cover their faces except for their eyes while meeting a non-male relative unless they are very young or old and that “the best way to observe hijab is not to go out unless necessary”. These decrees, described as “guidelines” or “recommendations”, have been enforced with varying intensity across districts and provinces. The government also declared that violations of these decrees would result in punishment directed at a woman’s male family member, effectively incentivising domestic enforcement. By March 2022, 61% of women had lost their jobs, while those in the informal sector faced diminished opportunities due to restrictions on their mobility. Alarmingly, reports indicate an increased risk of child marriage and gender-based violence for girls under the current condition.
Before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan launched its first National Action Plan (NAP) in 2015. This plan, set to be implemented in two phases from 2015-2018 and 2019-2022, was developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with several others. Afghanistan was committed to observing the principles of the UN Charter, and hence the NAP was developed around the four pillars of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325: participation, protection, prevention and relief and recovery. The government of Afghanistan made commitments to protect and promote the rights of women and girls. Under Article 43 in the Afghan constitution of 2004, all citizens were given the right to education. Denial of education for women was defined as a form of violence against women in the Afghan Elimination of Violence Against Women Act of 2009. The NAP set objectives for each pillar; increasing participation of women in the civil service, elected government and the security sector; passing laws to address human trafficking and violence against women; improving women’s access to justice in the legal system; steps to tackle the cultural issues tied to sexual violence ; and increasing employment opportunities for women in all sectors of the economy. Since the takeover by the Taliban in August 2021, all these commitments made under these conventions and agreements have been directly violated.
The United Nations Human Rights Council joint report highlights the ban on female education making Afghanistan “the only country in the world” where girls and young women are forbidden from attending secondary school and higher education institutions. The report also states “The blatant violations to the fundamental right to have access to quality education will have lifelong consequences regarding not only employment opportunities but also access to basic services such as health care.” There have been widespread reports of depression and suicide especially among adolescent girls who are prevented from pursuing education, the report notes. An interview was conducted by the Princeton Spia Afghanistan Policy Lab in Farsi and Pashto. The respondents' names and locations have been redacted to protect them from retaliation by authorities. The interview painted a picture of fear and uncertainty.
Women working in the education sector are unable to contribute to their family's livelihoods as many have lost their jobs. Many families face severe economic hardship due to these rigid restrictions imposed on their freedom. There are concerns about adverse social consequences such as an increase in forced and childhood marriages. An anonymous female teacher said “In my province, we had girls that could be singers, professors, athletes and politicians. Now we have nothing left. All those talents were arrested, left the country, or now live in hiding.
Families rush to marry their daughters because they are afraid the Taliban may take them for marriage. Most girls are forced to marry. This is the nightmare I never imagined to happen.”
The report expressed the opinion that women who belong to ethnic and religious minorities were treated more harshly by the government than those belonging to the majority.
All national governments and the international community have condemned the Taliban’s policies affecting women and girls. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) called on the Taliban to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls. Taliban has been urged on multiple instances to follow basic human rights codified in the UN Charter of Human Rights. The UN Security Council urged the Taliban to “respect the right to education and adhere to commitments to reopen schools for female students without further delay” post-March 23, 2022, after the Taliban government extended the decree of closure of secondary and high school education for girls. On July 8, 2022, the U.N. Human Rights Council passed a resolution titled Situation of Human Rights and Girls in Afghanistan, reaffirming its dedication to equal rights for women in the country and urging the Taliban to establish protective institutions for women and victims of gender-based violence. The UN High Commissioner highlighted that “since the Taliban took power, women and girls in Afghanistan were experiencing the most significant rollback in enjoyment of their rights”. As the authority governing the country, the Taliban was legally obligated to “ eliminate discrimination against women and ensure their right to equal participation in civic and public life.”
The international community has taken multiple important steps to support Afghan women and girls. However, more efforts and public condemnation are yet to be undertaken. National governments, UN agencies, intergovernmental organisations and regional organisations like the EU, businesses and NGOS must come together to consider some actions. International talks with the Taliban must include a clause to protect and promote women’s and girls’ rights.
UN agencies and global organisations should refuse meetings with Taliban officials in light of their demand for active participation of women. Governments, especially the U.S., must reaffirm their support for women’s empowerment. Afghan women need vocal, visible backing from influential global leaders. Until schools reopen, organisations should offer online literacy classes for girls and set up remote training programs for female teachers to keep them active and skilled, as advocated by many experts.
Ending gender apartheid in Afghanistan is a challenge we can tackle together. By standing with Afghan women, supporting their education, and pushing the Taliban to respect their rights, we can create real change. It’s a shared responsibility, and every effort counts. Together, we can help Afghan women build a brighter, fairer future.
Citations:
https://spia.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/2023-02/SPIA_NaheedRangita_PolicyBrief_07.pdf https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/09/afghan-women-exile-talibanjustice-gender-apartheid-crime-against-humanity https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/3/23/taliban-in-government-a-grim-new-reality-issettling-in https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2023/07/experts-taliban-treatment-women-may-be-genderapartheid
