With the withdrawal of American troops and the re-emergence of Taliban forces throughout the country, Afghanistan is poised to return to its dark days of Taliban rule. When the Taliban took power in 1996, until the U.S military campaign and occupation following the September 11th, 2001 attacks, life in Afghanistan was brutal.
Although all civilians suffered from systematic massacres and loss of freedoms, women were singled out harshly. In spite of international condemnation, under Taliban rule, the oppression of women was epic. Women were forbidden from being educated and girls were forced out of schools and colleges. Female employment was limited to health care as male personnel were not allowed to treat women or female children.
Before Taliban rule almost all teachers were women but with the ban on female education and the resulting school closures, less than 5 percent of children, male or female, were educated. Education which now consisted only of religious doctrine. Women were forbidden to leave their homes except accompanied by a male relative and had to wear a burka (the traditional dress covering the whole body with only a mesh slit to see through). Many non-muslim women were forced to wear a certain colour only so they could be recognized and avoided by muslims. House windows also had to be blackened so that women could not be seen from outside.
Human trafficking was also widespread. Ethnic minority women were abducted and sold into sex slavery within Afghanistan, Pakistan and to soldier training camps. Many women committed suicide to avoid this fate. Life for women was essentially reduced to house arrest if you were lucky, slavery if you were not.
The Taliban was also guilty of cultural genocide with the destruction of Afghan historical and cultural texts, artifacts and sculptures when they destroyed museums and libraries and their contents. Musical instruments were banned as well as television, cinemas, satellite dishes, internet etc. Recreational activities such as football, kite flying and chess were also banned. All disobedience resulted in harsh punishments and public beatings.
As a western woman, I am horrified that my Afghan sisters will now lose the freedom they enjoyed for the last 20 years and again be plunged into darkness. How can this still be possible in the modern world?
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