Afghan women: change worth fighting to preserve

Of all the controversies surrounding the US-led coalition’s 12-year presence in Afghanistan, one aspect stands out as an achievement. The country has made enormous progress on women’s rights during the 12 years.

During the time of the Taliban women were largely invisible. Most girls were not allowed to receive an education while women had to be escorted by men when outdoors and could be punished if they were alone.

Today, constitutional reforms, laws and policies are in place to guarantee women’s rights, and women are far more visible, especially in towns and cities.

But there are still challenges ahead. At a conference in London, one young Afghan, Salma Sahar told Channel 4 News that life has moved “heaven and earth” compared to how it was under Taliban rule.

“There was a time when we didn’t even have the internet now we have the internet and can solve a lot of problems online,” she says. “But it will take the right conditions of good education and work for things to get better.”

Hasina Safi, director of the Afghan Women’s Network, says that improvement will still take time.

“In the remote areas women are still under threat,” she says. “There are no security measures for women, they do not have bodyguards, they do not have armoured cars. We are not asking anyone else to come and do our job.”

She adds: “We will do our work ourselves as Afghan women. The only thing we require from the international community is support on what we require based on our needs.”

How bad did it get for Afghan women under Taliban rule?

In the 1990s the Taliban took control of the country, and imposed their strict interpretation of Sharia law. Women and girls were discriminated against in many ways.
They were banned from:

• Going to school or studying
• Working
• Leaving the house without a male chaperone
• Showing their skin in public
• Accessing healthcare provided by men, meaning healthcare was virtually inaccessible as women could not work
• Speaking loudly or laughing in public
• Being photographed
• Wearing brightly coloured clothes, high heels or perfume

Women who disobeyed the laws were punished harshly. In 1996 a woman in Kabul had the end of her thumb cut off for wearing nail varnish. Being found guilty of adultery could lead to a woman being stoned to death.

‘Imprisoned’

According to an Amnesty International report “women were essentially invisible in public life, imprisoned in their home”. In the capital Kabul ground and first-floor windows had to be covered so women inside could not be seen from the street. If a woman left her house she had to wear the full body veil called a burqa (see picture above) and be accompanied by a male relative.