Several women and girls report that, alongside the increasing pressures and restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women, familial constraints have also intensified. They believe that the stringent laws and growing arrests by the Taliban’s Morality Police have prompted male family members to impose even stricter controls on them.
Expressing concern about the current situation, these women and girls state that the rising detentions of women by the Taliban’s Morality Police have led some male family members to enforce additional restrictions, effectively turning them into unpaid enforcers of the group’s policies. According to them, their personal freedoms are shrinking daily, to the point where many face prohibitions or harsh conditions even for leaving the house or attending family gatherings.
Gulsom (pseudonym), a 24-year-old woman, says that despite her brothers being educated, they opposed her pursuing further studies or work. She adds that, despite numerous challenges, she managed to complete a two-year midwifery course. During this time, she says, she was beaten almost daily for various reasons.
She recounts: “One day, when the vehicle I was in dropped me off near our house, my classmates said goodbye. As I waved back, my brothers saw me and beat me severely, claiming I had dared to gesture a farewell outside the house—both brothers, each a year younger than me.”
Gulsom notes that since the Taliban’s takeover, her situation has worsened. She says, “When the Taliban came, it was like they handed my brothers a weapon. Now, even with a full hijab, they don’t allow me to leave the house, saying, ‘You shouldn’t step outside.’”
Fereshta, another woman who was a student at Kabul University’s Faculty of Engineering, says that after great effort, she gained admission to the faculty despite fierce opposition from her father and brother. She adds that their insults and belittlement were relentless: “Every time I picked up a book or worked on a project, I faced scornful looks and words that wounded my spirit.”
Fereshta emphasizes: “They always said, ‘What is the benefit of engineering for a girl? Are you a man?’ They mocked me, saying, ‘Not an engineer, but a fool!’ But I didn’t give up. Despite all the pressure, I succeeded and carried on.”
With sorrow, she says that after the fall of the Republic, some family members were pleased, as they could now use the Taliban as an excuse to exert greater control over her life.
Zulfar, another woman, says her brothers always believed that an educated woman becomes defiant. She adds that, for them, a literate woman equates to one who no longer obeys, who steps outside the house, and cannot be restrained. She continues: “If my father hadn’t supported me, I might never have even set foot in a school, let alone a university.”
After graduating from university following the Taliban’s takeover, instead of congratulations or pride, one of her brothers brought her a cake with the words “Congratulations on staying home!” written in cream.
Zulfar continues: “Seeing those words, my tears fell silently. My brothers now say, with the Taliban in power, ‘The law is on our side.’ Every time I hear this, I feel thrown back to the days when I had to fight for a basic right like education, even within my own family.”
Meanwhile, The Guardian has reported that men in Afghanistan are under pressure to force their female family members to comply with the Taliban’s Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
According to the report, many men in Afghanistan, to protect their women from harassment by the Taliban, act as unpaid enforcers of the group’s rules.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
