“Afghan women are trapped”: Amnesty International warns of the hell women face in Afghanistan

“In less than a year the Taliban have decimated the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan”. It is with this concise sentence that Amnesty International’s report on the situation in the country, which passed under the control of the Taliban in August 2021, begins.

The situation had changed in a few weeks over the summer, causing thousands of people to flee and raising fears of the worst for the people left behind. Since then, many human rights setbacks have been observed.

A “system of repression” against women in Afghanistan

Between September 2021 and June 2022, Amnesty International collected 90 testimonials to understand the big picture. He interviewed 90 women and 11 girls aged between 14 and 74from 20 of the 34 regions of Afghanistan.

“This report describes a web of related restrictions and prohibitions in which Afghan women and girls are trapped. This shows how Taliban violations of each right can have implications for the exercise of other rights. Together, Taliban policies form a system of repression that discriminates against Afghan women and girls in almost every aspect of their lives. “

These prohibitions and restrictions apply in four main areas: education, work, travel and clothing.

Young women excluded from education and forced to marry

Violence nestles in each other, as shown, for example, by the testimony of Khorsheed, 35, who regrets having been forced to think about marrying her 10-year-old daughter.

“It was until the end of the primary. I wanted her to study more. He could read, write, speak English, earn a living … I hope this child becomes something and supports his family. Of course, if the school doesn’t reopen, I should marry her. “

What Khorsheed says shows the terrible vicious circle: deprived of education, access to higher education and no prospects for a professional future, girls and young women will no longer be able to acquire autonomy and independencethus increasing the number of forced marriages.

Even when they are not prevented from studying, young women they are subject to rules that reduce their learning abilityincluding gender segregation, as well as mandatory dress codes.

Farida, 19, recounts what she went through in college:

“I went to my professor yesterday to tell him that I wanted to give a presentation on mental health. He told me I couldn’t speak in front of the class. Girls are no longer allowed to do this. “

Metra, 21 years old, ended up dropping out of journalism studies : “If you think about it, I study journalism knowing that I won’t even be able to work as a journalist. I found there was no point in studying if I couldn’t do what I loved, so I dropped out of college. “

Freedoms increasingly limited

“The Taliban restrictions on work created a desperate situation for many women who were the only source of income for their families”, highlights the Amnesty International report. They were lawyers, librarians, radio hosts, doctors, and today they find themselves unable to practice, fearing for their safety.

Women must now have a mahram, or a companion, a man to accompany them if they have to travel a distance greater than 72 km. “You can be arrested from the first kilometer,” complains Huda. The pressure of the mahram pushes more young women to marry so that they no longer have to be accompanied by a male relative, father or brother.

The restrictions on clothing are draconian and reign in terror, as the case of Mursal, 32, shows: “I was wearing my usual coat. I raised my arm and my hand and wrist were visible. The Taliban at the checkpoint said “why is your hand like this? It is outdoors ”. Next hit me with an iron bar. “

Many women, however, are determined to fight, to demonstrate against the laws that oppress them and prevent them from living, even if at times it means taking great risks for oneself and loved ones. One tells of a demonstration in which he participated in September 2021:

“We were 90 people and there were more than 200 Taliban around us … They insulted us, they said we were prostitutes and puppets of America. We replied that we did not support America or any terrorist groups … Whatever they said, we replied to them. They didn’t like it, because they want us to shut up. “

Amnesty International presented its report on the alarming situation to several members of the Afghan government and received no response. Agnès Callamard, General Secretary of Amnesty International calls on the international community to protect the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Photo credit: Sergeant. Kimberly Trumbull, in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons