After 20 years of almost normal freedom, the country of Afghanistan is once more thrown in the dark ages in regards to women's rights. The Taliban has formed a new government, formally announcing the start of their reign with the hoisting of their flag over the Afghan presidential palace on September 11, 2021. So, on the same day that the United States of America was mourning the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the World Trade Centre attacks where 2,977 people died.
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| Taliban flag flying on top of the Afghanistan presidential palace |
JUST ANNOUNCED: Women can still study at university, but....
Today, it came out in all the newspapers that the Taliban have announced that women can still attend university. The only problem is that they specified a set of almost unachievable rules that will mean that women will not be able to go to university if the resources or space does not meet the demands.
Women can still attend university, even post-graduate studies if:
- classes are gender-segregated
- the proper Islamic dress is worn (it hasn't been made clear whether the hijab is enough or the full burka has to be worn)
The Taliban insists that there are enough female teachers to be able to achieve this model and there is enough space, and if there isn't, then a suitable solution will be found. The critics doubt it, the consensus is that this decree will lead to even less opportunities for women to study to the point that they will be stuck at home. One suggestion of the Taliban spokesperson was that if a female teacher was not found, then a man could teach, that was situated behind a screen. Or remote education.
As well as these changes, there came the information that the subjects will also be reviewed so that women can only access specific and Taliban-approved topics to study.
WOMEN BANNED FROM SPORTS
This announcement had come out on Sunday evening, and joins the other decrees where women had been banned from participating in sports and violence has been used against women protesting the loss of their basic rights.
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| Women protesting their loss of freedoms |
In an old-fashioned view, a Taliban spokesperson, Syed Zekrullah Hashmi, said that women should give birth and raise children on the Afghani news channel, TOLO News. This is on top of the all-male government that has dismayed international governments that are keeping an eagle eye on Afghanistan. International bodies had hoped to see more diversity in this new regime, but they were met with views that women don't belong in the government.
WOMEN MUST ABIDE BY SHARIA LAW
The Taliban has said that women and girls can still go to school, study and work but it must all be in accordance to the Sharia law.
In Islamic Sharia law a woman is permitted to work under conditions that will not violate her Islamic belief. So this means that she can maintain her modesty and for example does not participate in certain tasks, like serving alcohol. If work is seen as necessary, then a woman is permitted to be employed and is not seen as shameful. But, her job must not interfere with the very important task of raising children and being a good wife.
Some schools of thought say that a woman must have her husband's permission before going to paid employment.
CONCLUSION
While it is good news that women can have the opportunity to be educated this time around, compared to 20 years ago, it's a far cry from the freedoms they had even a month or two ago. Before the Taliban uprising, there was co-ed classes, no dress codes and women had opportunities in the workplace to be judges, ministers, police officers and whatever else their hearts desired.
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