After entering Kabul, the Taliban have imposed restrictions on women, diverting part of their forces to enforce these measures. These restrictions were implemented from the outset of the Taliban’s entry into Kabul and the downfall of the government. Following the collapse, the group eliminated women from positions of power and politics in the country, even prohibiting lower-ranking female employees from entering offices. Subsequently, some female employees were instructed to send a male family member to work in their place, regardless of the individual’s qualifications or interest in the job. Previously, schools were closed to girls above the sixth grade. At that time, the Taliban claimed that these closures were temporary and that girls could not receive education until further notice, which has yet to come. Restrictions on women’s education were followed by the narrowing of academic fields, ultimately leading to the complete closure of universities for women. Women are prohibited from going to parks and public baths, and they are required to carry their legal guardians with them during travel or when visiting restaurants. Recently, the Taliban’s enforcement of a strict dress code has led to a surge in arrests of women and girls, severely curtailing their mobility in certain regions. This crackdown has profoundly affected women’s access to education, employment, and freedom of movement. Even those who previously had limited educational opportunities, such as learning sewing or English, are now denied further schooling. Consequently, they face daunting challenges and harbor deep disillusionment about their prospects.
Losing Educational Opportunities
It’s hard to find anyone in Afghanistan who hasn’t lost educational opportunities due to Taliban restrictions, either themselves or a family member. Those interviewed by the Hasht-e Subh Daily have all expressed concerns about missing out on educational opportunities and feeling pessimistic about the future.
Qadria, a resident of Kabul, was a graphic design student at Kabul University when the Taliban entered the city. On December 20, 2022, the Taliban closed universities to girls, while Qadria had only completed one year of her academic journey. She laments, “I entered Kabul University in 2021 to study graphic design, but unfortunately, universities were closed to girls.” After the closure of universities, this female student entered the job market to at least contribute to her family’s finances. Her educational journey abruptly ended, transitioning into a new phase of life: work. Qadria mentions that Taliban educational restrictions have significantly impacted her livelihood, depriving her of significant opportunities in both education and employment. She adds that she was attending English language courses recently, but the onset of Taliban crackdowns on girls deprived her of that opportunity as well. According to this student, if the Taliban didn’t restrict women’s education, girls would easily attend universities and schools, reap the fruits of years of effort, and enjoy a fundamental human right.
Sana Rasa, who was simultaneously engaged in university studies and working at a salon, has also lost her educational opportunity. Sana says, “I was a BBA student at Kateb Private University, and I had just completed one semester when the Taliban closed the universities.” Ms. Rasa, who has left Afghanistan recently, states that Taliban restrictions have deprived her of educational and employment opportunities, forcing her to leave the country with her family.
Mahbooba (pseudonym), a teacher in Kabul, recently had to resign from her job. She says that educational opportunities in Afghanistan for all women and girls have become “disrupted” by the Taliban. She also speaks about the lack and shortage of educational facilities for women. Mahbooba says, “We currently don’t have the facilities we had in the past in the education sector.” However, she mentions that online classes are available, but they come with their own set of problems: “Afghanistan doesn’t have proper electricity, and we, as people, don’t have enough economic ability to buy internet to benefit from large-scale online education opportunities. Online education doesn’t have the quality of in-person education.” This former teacher emphasizes that Taliban restrictions have damaged the entire education process in the country.
Sara (pseudonym) is also concerned about the future of women’s education. She says that several girls in her family have been deprived of educational opportunities. Sara tells the Hasht-e Subh Daily, “My sisters have been deprived of education since the Taliban came. They are currently sitting at home without any clear future or destiny, waiting for schools and universities to open for girls.” According to Ms. Sara, education was the only option for women in Afghanistan’s violent society to hope for a better life, but even this option has been taken away from them.
Women, Work, and the Taliban Restrictions
The entry of the Taliban into Kabul has left women employees and workers more concerned than others. Those who were the breadwinners of their families became deeply worried considering the experiences they had from the Taliban’s previous rule on Afghanistan. Upon seizing control of the government apparatus, the Taliban immediately banned women from entering governmental institutions. Initially, women government employees were allowed to attend offices and sign attendance once a month, but later even this permission was revoked. The group has only allowed women to engage in two sectors: health and education. However, these work opportunities come with significant restrictions. Female teachers can only teach female students who are necessarily below the sixth grade. This restriction has also limited teaching opportunities for women. Moreover, restrictions on women’s movement have led many to bid farewell to their jobs.
Mahbooba has been working as a school teacher in Afghanistan for years. It has been over a month now since she stopped teaching. Mahbooba tells the Hasht-e Subh Daily, “I used to teach somewhere. Since the trend of detaining girls began, the educational process has become disrupted. Most of our students were young girls. The detentions prevented many of them from coming to study because their families wouldn’t allow them. This disrupted our teaching process.” The disruption in the educational process in the institution where Mahbooba worked affected the institution’s funding, undoubtedly rendering some of its teachers and instructors unemployed. However, Mahbooba was also not allowed by her family to leave the house anymore, whether for the market or teaching. She adds, “My family didn’t allow me to go teach anymore; they said it’s not enough income, and on the other hand, it’s a significant risk that anything could happen to you outside anytime, and it’s not worth the risk.”
Sana Rasa, however, didn’t simply comply with the Taliban’s orders. When the Taliban ordered the closure of all women’s beauty salons last year, Ms. Rasa hoped they would allow reopening in the not-too-distant future. Therefore, she says she didn’t hand over the salon building to its owner and only closed its door. However, the Taliban realized the salon wasn’t vacated. They seal her shop and tell her that if she doesn’t empty the shop’s contents soon, all her equipment will be confiscated. When Ms. Rasa is forced to vacate the shop, she continues to work, this time launching an underground salon. Ms. Rasa, who didn’t collect her salon equipment in response to the Taliban’s first order, faces further pressure. She tells the Hasht-e Subh Daily, “They sealed the shop and called me, saying if you don’t collect the shop’s belongings, everything will be confiscated. One day we had to bring the shop’s belongings home and start working from home. It was still good; our customers came. Then the Kabul Security Zone in District 13 called us and told us that they have found that we have a beauty salon at home, and such an event shouldn’t happen; we’ve been ordered to close it.” Ms. Rasa doesn’t surrender this time either. Having lost her educational opportunity, she remains steadfast in her work. She says that after the letter, she continued her work at home, but this time the moral police came to her: “We continued for a while again. This time, the moral police came and gave us a major warning. They said this house should be closed too, otherwise, we’ll take the belongings and you with us. We had no choice but to close it now.”
Qadria, however, is dismissed and unemployed due to Taliban pressures on the eve of the new year 1402 (2023-2024). She says that despite her experience and skills, no organization was willing to hire her. The response from everyone was similar: the Taliban don’t allow the employment of women. She mentions that her father doesn’t have a lucrative job, and her income greatly contributed to the family’s economy. However, now their financial situation has become very dire.
Restrictions on Movement
As soon as the Taliban arrived in Kabul, they began obstructing women’s movement on the city’s roads. They would stop taxis and warn female passengers and even drivers about not having a male guardian. In March 2022, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice issued a directive that women could not travel more than 78 kilometers without a male guardian. Subsequently, women were banned from entering parks and baths. Leaving the country without a male guardian also became restricted under Taliban rule. In many cases, even students who had obtained scholarships were unable to obtain permission to fly abroad because they could not provide a male guardian. These restrictions continued until the wave of arrests of women and girls on charges of violating the Taliban dress code began. This situation injected an indescribable fear and terror into society, to the extent that women say they cannot even go to the corner shop out of fear, and families have restricted their movement due to fear of Taliban militants.
Qadria says, “I am afraid. When I leave the house, completely covered in black attire and even wearing a mask, if I go a bit farther from home, I must take my father or uncles with me… I don’t have the same freedom of movement, the right to choose my attire, and education as in the republican era.” According to Qadria, some of these restrictions are imposed by Taliban orders, while others are the result of pervasive fear in society. She mentions that when she sees the Taliban, she changes her route to avoid confrontation: “Although I fully observe Islamic hijab and even wear a mask, when I encounter Taliban forces, especially those moral police, I always change my path.” She adds that she always travels by city public vehicles throughout the city due to fear of the Taliban.
Sana Rasa also states that before the start of the wave of girls detention in the Dasht-e Barchi region of Kabul, she could go to shops and her friends’ houses in her neighborhood, but after that, she couldn’t even go to her sister’s house, which was a 10-minute walk away, without her father or husband.
Mahbooba, however, expresses fear of the streets, walls, and people of the city and says she doesn’t leave the house unless necessary. She adds that when she’s forced to go out, she takes a male family member with her to avoid giving any excuse to the Taliban.
Sara mentions that when she goes out, she feels the Taliban’s eyes on her and experiences intense fear. According to Sara, while all Afghan women observe the hijab, the Taliban impose another form of hijab on them, restricting their freedom even with the Taliban’s version of hijab.
Meanwhile, according to the reports of Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan, from the beginning of the Taliban’s re-establishment of power in Afghanistan until June 2023, at least 50 restrictive orders against women have been issued. These orders have affected women’s lives and excluded them from society and public spaces. Since June 2023, the series of restrictions on women has not stopped. In the latest incident on Saturday, February 24, Abdul Rashid Omari, the Taliban’s security commander in Khost, issued a written order banning women and girls from contacting the media. This letter was made public three days ago (February 25) by the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC).
