Taliban increases level of cruelty and barbarism against the women of Afghanistan
Having faced the cruel arm of the Taliban myself when they invaded my home and targeted me in a brutal hit-and-run, their only goal with a law like this is to impose psychological torture. As a judge, I believe this form of social restriction becomes the severest form of psychological torture for the people of Afghanistan.
- 3 months ago
September 23, 2024
An undated photo of a woman in Afghanistan wearing a full burqa. | Photo courtesy of Davric on Wikimedia
AFGHANISTAN ꟷ On August 26, 2024, the Taliban implemented new morality rules. These rules will lead to the inevitable torture of more people, particularly women. Under the Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Taliban brings regressive human rights reforms to Afghan society.
As a former female judge and women’s rights activist in Afghanistan, the Taliban attempted to assassinate me twice. I survived, landing in the United Kingdom as a refugee, where I eventually gained asylum and citizenship. For years, I have continued my work to bring attention to women’s issues in my native land. As part of this work, I advocated internationally for the relocation of the nearly 300 female judges trapped in Afghanistan after the Taliban overthrew the government in 2021. I serve as an advocate for those who are unable to express themselves.
In my lived experience, Afghanistan already existed as an Islamic country where the government applied Islamic law. They did not construct Afghanistan’s laws under the influence of the international community or “the West,” as some may assert. Any training received by judges and prosecutors served simply to improve their practical skills, not to influence religious beliefs. These experiences did not seek to make new laws.
Even before the Taliban, Afghan laws and punishments for violations by lawbreakers remained rooted in Islam. These laws were applied equally to both men and women in society. Now, the Taliban has removed four volumes of civil laws from the existing Islamic laws.
Recent legislation enacted by the Taliban designed to inflict psychological suffering upon the citizens of Afghanistan
With the new laws, the Taliban prohibits women from speaking in public places. They also prohibit women from talking to non-relative men. According to the Taliban, this is to prevent men from being provoked, claiming the effort will reform society.
I assert, “Why, then, did the Taliban impose these restrictions only on women? Why is there no adjacent law on this issue for men?” The answer seems clear. The Taliban remains focused on controlling women with laws designed to further this effort. Why should women be limited by the assumption that a man remains so weak, he cannot control himself sexually?
Imposing restrictions like this, in a society where food and work already remain scarce, only worsens the lives of the people. Afghan citizens suffer emotionally and mentally already due to problems with unemployment. Whether teachers, police, legislators, or other professionals – male and female – the working class of Afghanistan remains in captivity.
I faced the cruel arm of the Taliban myself when they invaded my home and targeted me in a brutal hit-and-run. Their only goal with a law like this is to impose psychological torture. As a judge, I believe this form of social restriction becomes the severest form of psychological torture for the people of Afghanistan.
Make no mistake, the Taliban want to terrorize the citizenry. They want to impose fear. Situations like this have and will inevitably lead to a mass exodus of Afghan people from their own country. No one can live and adapt to such conditions. Yet, under the new laws, women cannot travel without a mahram or a male chaperone. They become trapped.
In Afghanistan, women potentially face incarceration, penalties for attempting to access food and healthcare in the absence of an approved male companion
In the aftermath of protracted civil conflicts, a considerable number of Afghan families find themselves bereft of male leadership. This has resulted in a notable population of widows. The enduring impact of multiple wars has been particularly harrowing for Afghan women. They have experienced the loss of their primary breadwinners – husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons. Consequently, numerous families now lack a male head of household.
The existing circumstances raise concerns regarding compliance with international human rights laws. A woman experiencing limited access to food, absence of income, and who falls ill finds herself unable to leave her home due to the absence of a mahram. Furthermore, the prohibition on seeking help from a male neighbor as a result of the Taliban’s requirement to disclose the nature of their relationship, presents significant challenges.
In the absence of a legal or familial relationship, the potential risk of imprisonment and punishment for seeking assistance further compounds her predicament. It leaves her confined at home, hungry, and unwell. When comparing the current conditions of Afghanistan with those of other Islamic countries, it becomes apparent that no similar restrictions exist elsewhere.
For instance, in neighboring Pakistan, also an Islamic country, such laws are not in place. This raises the question of why Afghanistan applies Islamic law differently despite the foundational unity of Islam, the Qur’an, and the shared following of the Prophet Muhammad among Muslims.
The Taliban has two goals in implementing inhumane laws against women
I believe the Taliban has two objectives in establishing new regulations under these laws. Firstly, they aim to demonstrate to the global community that the practice of Islam in Afghanistan is distinct from that in other Muslim-majority regions.
Secondly, they want to enshrine authoritarian Islamic law in Afghanistan. When they do this, they make the people hate religion. They create an environment where the educated people of Afghanistan leave to escape oppression and torture. They want those people gone; people who are modern Muslims.; people who maintain Islamic and religious values but live in line with modern technology and the human rights of the larger world.
The burqa, for example, which covers a woman entirely, remains a common cultural practice in the far districts and villages of Afghanistan. Yet, throughout the country before the Taliban, the majority of women did not wear it. Now, the Taliban orders all women to cover themselves from head to toe. In doing this, they make themselves a higher reference than the Holy Qu’ran itself. Islam allows women, for example, to perform the Hajj ceremony with faces, hands, and feet showing.
These distinctions matter; the Taliban’s choices do not reflect the larger Muslim community. As a judge with a background in Islamic sciences, I worked and lived in Islamic society most of my life. This despotic, shameful, and repressive approach to Islamic law only increases the Afghan people’s disgust against them, upon which the Taliban either imprison, kill, or drive you away – as they did to me. I left, and now I am no longer “a problem.”
I say laws and governments should comfort the human beings they serve, rather than cause disgust and hatred. The people of Afghanistan cannot accept these laws. The actions of the Taliban to devalue and repress women only puts Afghan society under a negative microscope, illustrating the destructive effects of the Taliban’s irrational and cruel methods.
[The Qu’ran mentions the hijab as a head and body cover two times, and Allah did not specify an appearance all women should abide by. According to the Qu’ran, you should cover your head, neck, and chest, and wear loose clothing.]
