Afghanistan has had a turbulent political past for centuries. In the last three decades alone, the country, landlocked in Southern Asia and neighboring Iran, Pakistan, China, and other Asian countries, had been occupied by the Soviet Union, and US-led international forces, and has been occupied by the infamous Taliban since 2021 (Amnesty International). The rights of Afghan women are an issue that has heartily persisted throughout this country’s unstable history.
According to BBC News, “Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where women and girls are prevented from accessing secondary and higher education – some one and a half million have been deliberately deprived of schooling. The Taliban has repeatedly promised they would be readmitted to school once a number of issues were resolved – including ensuring the curriculum was “Islamic,” but this has yet to happen. In December, women were also banned from training as midwives and nurses, effectively closing off their last route to further education in the country” (BCC).
Malala Yousafazi, a 27-year-old Pakistani activist, became a global symbol for education at 15 after surviving a life-threatening attack by the Taliban for voicing her right to an education. She commented, “Simply put, the Taliban in Afghanistan do not see women as human beings” (BCC). Under the orders of the Taliban, recent efforts have been made to further restrict the rights of Afghan women in extreme manners. These human rights violations include prohibiting driver’s licenses from being issued to women, banning women and girls from parks, gyms, and playing sports, banning co-education, ordering female students to cover their faces in classrooms, and mandating that female TV guests/hosts cover their faces while on air.
Emma Sanchez, a junior at Ramapo, expressed her passion for women’s rights and her upset at the treatment of Afghanistan women by the Taliban: “This is an absolute tragedy. I hope these women are able to regain their rights soon and do not have to live the rest of their lives in fear,” she said. Mackenzie Giampietro, also a junior at Ramapo, who is a member of both the Women in Business Club and the Women’s Sports Coalition commented, “No girl deserves to have her rights stripped away like this. I am very interested in learning more about this issue to see what I can do to bring more awareness to the situation.”
Many organizations and relief foundations exist in hopes of providing aid, support, and awareness to Afghan women in this time of need. Regardless of religion and politics, Afghanistan women are being stripped of their basic human rights and need the rest of the world’s help in regaining their voice.
