According to Huma Ahmed-Ghosh’s 2003 article, Afghan women have only had the opportunity to enjoy their basic rights, such as education and political participation, during two periods: King Amanullah Khan’s reign and the democratic government of Afghanistan, which received support from the Soviet Union. However, tribal elders, extreme mullahs, and influential village figures opposed women’s education and employment, viewing their progress as illegal and against God’s law. They perceived women’s advancement as a significant threat to their rule, leading them to resist those governments with all their power, eventually succeeding in overthrowing them. As a result, women lost all the gains they had achieved during those two periods.
Following the assassination of his father, Habibullah Khan, in 1919, Amanullah Khan assumed power and instituted significant changes previously unseen in Afghanistan’s history. As an ambitious king with grand aspirations for his nation’s development, he placed particular emphasis on educating both boys and girls. This article will examine the achievements of women during Amanullah Khan’s reign and the factors that led to the destruction of these gains.
During his nine-year reign, Amanullah Khan implemented numerous changes in Afghanistan, including the adoption of the country’s first constitution, transitioning from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, and the prohibition of slavery. Additionally, Amanullah Khan implemented significant measures affecting women’s rights. These actions included the establishment of the first school for girls, the abolition of the bride price, the prohibition of polygamy for men, the establishment of a minimum marriage age for girls, the creation of the first hospital for women, the establishment of the first printed magazine for women, the formation of women’s support associations, and the sending of girls abroad for educational purposes.
During his reign, King Amanullah Khan appointed women of the royal family, particularly his wife Queen Soraya Tarzi, to critical government positions. Queen Soraya established the Women’s Support Society and Women’s Hospital. Amanullah Khan’s initial significant action concerning women’s rights was the establishment of the Esmat School for girls in 1920, which enrolled and educated hundreds of girls in a brief period. Additionally, Amanullah Khan sent 15 girls to Turkey for higher education, marking the first instance of Afghan girls receiving education abroad. However, these measures encountered significant opposition from religious factions, leading to protests from religious scholars and rural elites who deemed girls’ education and travel overseas without male companions as contrary to religious teachings. These groups called for the closure of girls’ schools and the repatriation of Afghan girls studying abroad.
King Amanullah aimed to liberate women from tribal customs and traditions, and he placed considerable emphasis on women’s education. Moreover, he implemented measures against the hijab, polygamy, and bride prices. Amanullah also encouraged women to fight for their rights, as he believed that they deserved to be free. After returning from a trip to Europe, he invited female government officials to the royal palace and urged them to embrace their freedom. He even promised to provide them with weapons if their husbands refused to grant them their rights. Despite his stance against women’s hijab, he still faced opposition from some religious factions. During one of his speeches, he contended that Islam did not obligate women to wear the hijab on their heads and feet. At the end of his speech, Queen Soraya tore off her veil, and other dignitaries’ wives also discarded their veils. In some streets of Kabul, signs were installed prohibiting women from wearing the hijab while passing through those streets. However, Amanullah’s approach changed following his trip to Europe. According to Afghan writer and historian Ghulam Muhammad Ghobar, Amanullah was a wise and resourceful leader in the first five years of his reign, focusing on modern education and international relations. Nonetheless, his six-month European trip in 1928 transformed him into a self-indulgent, pleasure-seeking, and haughty person who took impulsive and immature actions.
The young king’s six-month visit to Europe caused him to disregard many of Afghanistan’s traditional societal realities and values. Rather than addressing critical governance issues, he engaged in immature actions. For instance, he abandoned the optional hijab policy and imposed mandatory non-hijab regulations, even prohibiting women from traveling on certain roads if they wore the hijab. These actions were unacceptable to Afghanistan’s conservative and traditional society, providing an excellent pretext for tribal elders, extremist mullahs, and prominent local figures to stage a rebellion against the government.
On one hand, tribal elders, extremist mullahs, and prominent local figures deemed King Amanullah’s actions to be contrary to religious teachings and a significant threat to their rule in society. As a result, they labeled Amanullah’s actions as “Western” and excommunicated him. It should be acknowledged that British intelligence played a role in this context as well. They launched a widespread propaganda campaign against the king and his family, distributing topless photos of Queen Soraya among the tribes.
In late 1929, following the rebellion of tribal elders and extremist mullahs, Amanullah Khan yielded to all their demands. He closed all girls’ schools and postponed girls’ education for two decades. According to Ahmed-Ghosh, Amanullah Khan married for a second time in the final years of his reign. Religious scholars insisted on repatriating girls who were previously sent abroad to study, but despite his promise to do so, King Amanullah did not comply. The King’s abandonment of his innovative plans proved insufficient to maintain his hold on power, primarily due to the involvement of external factors in the uprisings.
To summarize, it can be posited that the opposition of extremist mullahs, tribal elders, and village influencers, coupled with the foreign intelligence’s extensive propaganda against Amanullah, and the King’s extremist actions after his European trip prompted the clergy to revolt and forced the King to retract his earlier policies. Towards the end of his reign, Amanullah Khan shut down girls’ schools, reinstated polygamy, abolished the minimum age for girls’ marriage, and permitted the bride price. Consequently, women returned to their previous status quo, and the King eventually departed for Italy, leaving behind his possessions.
