CThis is, unfortunately, only the latest version in a long, very long list. On Monday, December 30, the Taliban in power in Afghanistan ordered that windows overlooking residential spaces occupied by Afghan women be blocked (or, failing that, no longer built). If the UN said it was “alarmed” this Tuesday, December 31, by this decision, it nevertheless seems very powerless in the face of a Taliban power which, since its return to power in August 2021, has continued to attack to the rights of women in her country.
Since December 2021, Afghan women (who now have refugee status) are no longer authorized to appear alone in public. They must be accompanied by a “mahram”, that is to say a male chaperone.
Many public places are also prohibited to them, such as gyms, beauty salons or public baths, since November 2022.
ALSO READ Hugo Micheron: “There are no moderate jihadists” They have also been banned from traveling or flying since March 2022. Some provinces, such as Herat, have even introduced additional restrictions: women cannot go to a restaurant alone. Their movements are also restricted, since they cannot take driving lessons or be issued a driving license.
Afghan women silenced
Between August 2021 and December 2022, sixteen decrees or orders reduced women's rights. Since March 2022, girls over the age of 12 have been banned from secondary education. Thus, Afghan women have no longer had access to universities since December 2022. Finally, since December 2024, women can no longer follow medical training in private or public organizations.
Women therefore have very few opportunities to study, but also to work: as of January 2023, they were only authorized to have a job in the field of health or primary education. Following two decrees in December 2022 and April 2023, Afghan women could also not work in NGOs or in UN agencies in the country.
ALSO READ The double punishment of Afghan womenA new law, promulgated in August 2024, further restricted their rights. 35 articles took these bans to a new level: Afghan women cannot sing or read aloud in public, or even recite the Koran in the presence of other women.
The full veil is imposed on them in public spaces and their body must be concealed: “Clothes must not be too thin, too tight or too short” so that they “are not tempted” and “do not tempt the others,” specifies the law.
Suicides on the rise
Women also cannot look directly at men to whom they are not related by blood or marriage. They can no longer wear makeup or perfume. Finally, they cannot speak to each other or outside their home, and must only leave their home if necessary (and always accompanied by‘a chaperone).
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These numerous and absurd prohibitions are not without consequences. A 2021 UN Women report noted that 78% of women reported very poor mental health. “Our analysis shows that by 2026, leaving 1.1 million girls out of school and 100,000 women out of university results in a 45% increase in teenage pregnancies and a 50% increase in maternal mortality,” said Alison Davidian, the organization’s representative.
ALSO READ In Afghanistan, 28 million women and girls “walled in alive” Reduced to silence, more and more Afghan women are resorting to the worst: suicide. As noted by Zan Times in 2023, the curve has reversed and they are now more numerous than men to kill themselves. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may well increase joint declarations and other calls to end these restrictions. The international community today seems powerless and the country is plunging ever deeper into obscurantism.
