Abdul Salam Hanafi claims women have 'excellent rights' under Taliban at Moscow meet

With the Taliban seizing control of Afghanistan, there is widespread anxiety that the exit of US and coalition soldiers could jeopardise even the modest advances made for Afghan women and girls. For more than two decades, Western countries encouraged Afghan women and girls to pursue higher education, work in the media, and hold public and government positions, but their abrupt pullout left many women vulnerable, according to The Frontier Post. The Taliban and other groups operating in the region have made no secret of their views on gender equality, making Afghanistan a crucial benchmark for the convergence of the global Women, Peace, Security and counterterrorism agendas. The Frontier Post reported, girls have been able to attend school in Kunduz Province, but they are still forbidden from schools across much of Afghanistan, with many young women concealing evidence of higher education or job for fear of retaliation from the new Taliban leadership.

This outcome contradicts some international stakeholders' original optimism that the Taliban would uphold their vow to protect human rights and be a gentler, more inclusive version of their previous violent rule. Since assuming power, the Taliban have constructed a government with no women, and have replaced the Women's Ministry with the "Ministry of Virtue and Vice." Rather than supporting education for half of the country's population, the last iteration of this ministry operated as the Taliban's moral police, imposing a strict dress code, forced imprisonment, and harsh punishments that kept most women out of school, public, and political life. Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about "promises made to Afghan women and girls by the Taliban being broken," and urged the Taliban to "keep their promises to women and girls and fulfil their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law."

Women rights in Afghanistan- The Red Line

Women in Afghanistan have long feared that their rights would be jeopardised for security reasons, despite the fact that they already face poor levels of literacy and development, as well as high levels of domestic abuse and violence. As the Taliban reopened high schools for boys but kept the status of girls unclear, and barred women from holding government positions, such anxieties grew, according to The Frontier Post. These fears were realised in September, when Kabul's interim mayor, Hamdullah Nohmani, announced a Taliban decree instructing female employees in city administration to stay at home and only perform jobs that men cannot accomplish. According to The Frontier Post, 27% of the 2,930 individuals working for the Kabul municipality are women, with hundreds of them out of work as a result of the limitations. 

(With inputs from ANI)

Image: AP