For over a hundred years, the ban on Afghan girls’ education has been a traditional issue, rather than religious, that has yet to be solved. Traditional beliefs have been known to lead countries into backwardness and darkness, and the Taliban are no exception. They are attempting to add to their like-minded followers in Afghanistan by exploiting families’ extreme traditional beliefs and forcing people to think like them, or else face violent repercussions. The Taliban have shown no resilience or flexibility towards any citizen, particularly Afghan women, and are trying to oppress anyone who speaks out against them in the current catastrophic situation of the country.
Since the Taliban‘s return to power in Afghanistan, there has been a sharp increase in family violence, forced marriages, poverty, and discrimination against women. The Taliban have been particularly oppressive towards women‘s intellectualism, denying them their right to free thought. Families are under immense pressure to adhere to the Taliban‘s extremist ideology, making it difficult for any resistance group to stand up to them. Despite this, there are still many people who are resisting the Taliban, though they face extreme repercussions for doing so, as the Taliban have no regard for Afghan values.
People are increasingly concerned about the Taliban‘s ban on Afghan girls‘ education, which will create a multitude of challenges for Afghan women in the long run. To demonstrate their disapproval of the Taliban‘s unreasonable orders, lecturers have been resigning from their positions in universities on a daily basis. This presents a greater challenge, as the Taliban can then appoint their own sympathizers to replace the resigned lecturers. It is up to us to prevent the Taliban from spreading extremism among the open–minded students through their replacements.
The Afghan people are continuing to resist the Taliban‘s oppressive rule, in the hopes of establishing a society free of violence and restrictions. To achieve this, they are calling on the international community to impose sanctions on the Taliban, in order to give Afghan girls the chance to attend schools and universities without fear. Afghans are hoping for a future where democracy and the people are the decision–makers, not an extremist group that forces its beliefs on the population, particularly women and girls who should not have to wear a burqa in order to access education.
