May 31, 2022
The World Is Still Failing Afghan Women
Since seizing power in Afghanistan in the wake of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal in August 2021, the Taliban have repeatedly reneged on promises to restore education for Afghan girls over sixth grade, reinstated requirements that women have a male escort when they leave their homes for any reason, segregated women from public accommodations, placed restrictions on women’s workforce participation, and severely censored media representation of women.
The contrast between the bravery of these Afghan women and the slinking cowardice of the international community could not be starker.
Most recently, the Taliban have reinstated wearing the burqa, using collective punishment to enforce this mandate. At the same time, they have accelerated reprisal killings, refused to allow Afghans to leave the country, and deepened the ongoing humanitarian disaster through their incompetent and regressive rule. Disappearances of women activists and gender-based violence—including rape and the sale of girls as young as 9 into forced marriages—have soared. Other violent extremist groups operating in Afghanistan have expanded their territory and launched a series of horrific attacks killing scores of civilians.
Read the full article from Foreign Policy.
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