Feminism Matters: A Look at Afghanistan
Photo by Faruk Tokluoğlu from Pexels.
Ella Janiszewski
When discussing sex and gender in the United States, as an American, you may think “why do we need feminism anymore?” Seemingly, American women have just as many rights as men, and significantly more than a century ago. However, I urge you to consider the need for feminism, not just in the US, but across the globe. Today, still, many women are alien to the basic rights and freedoms Americans benefit from. Can you imagine no longer having the right to leave your house without express permission from a male family member? Or no longer being allowed to speak in public? Because those are the realities women in Afghanistan, the country currently ranked dead last on the Women Peace and Security Index, face every day.
Created at Georgetown University and founded by former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and former Georgetown University President, John J Gioia, the Georgetown Institute for Women Peace and Security (GIWPS) aims to dissect and amplify the roles of women in peace and security, as well as their roles in the growing economy. The Women Peace and Security Index (WPS Index) ranks countries in the categories of justice, inclusion, and security. According to their website, the WPS Index “offers a tool for identifying where resources and accountability are needed most to advance women’s status - which benefits us all.” The most recent ranking, reported in 2023, lists Afghanistan at 177/177: the worst country to be a woman. In comparison, the United States ranked 37th. But, before listing out various facts, it’s important to understand why women are experiencing such hardship, especially when Afghanistan had major progression in women’s rights across the 20th century.
Afghan women gained suffrage in 1919, a year before American women received the same. Over the next 60 years, girls gained entry to schools, gender separation ended, and gender equality expanded in the Afghan constitution. However, after Soviet invasion in 1979, religious militant groups, called mujahidin, formed in opposition. These groups were anti-communist and pro-Islam. These groups misused a term called jihad, which literally means “striving”. Jihad has great religious meaning in Islam-- encouraging followers to persist against anything that keeps them from God. However, extremists use the term to justify violence in the name of religion.
During this time of violence and unrest, women’s rights became less of a priority, and much progress was lost. Millions of women lost their access to education and work, and, because of the rule of Islamic militant groups, were forced to wear burqas, a modest garment that covers the entire face and body, and were no longer allowed to leave their homes without a male chaperone. When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 1996, a harsh interpretation of Islamic law was imposed. This caused a significant loss of women’s rights, banning women from working and taking girls out of schools. When the Taliban fell in 2001, a new constitution regained equal rights for women, though social and cultural attitudes continued to block women from equal treatment. Continuing through the early 2000s, the Afghan government took action to decrease violence against women and promote political and economic equality. But since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2021, the Taliban has regained control of the nation, now called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Currently, Afghan women face oppression completely foreign to us in the United States. The Taliban are, quite literally, erasing women. More recent laws state that women’s voices should not be heard in public. The leader of the Taliban recently ordered that buildings should not have windows looking into areas where women may be. This includes kitchens, courtyards, wells, and places typically used by women. In various ways, girls and women are either prohibited from receiving education, or severely limited. Girls are not allowed to attend secondary school: grades 7 through 12. The Ministry of Higher Education has ordered, to multiple higher education institutions, that women should be excluded from entrance exams, that men should exclusively be admitted in future years, and that transcripts and certificates for female graduates should not be issued. Without a male family member, women in various cities cannot enter healthcare centers, order at restaurants, or use public transportation. Really, they cannot leave their homes without permission. Afghan women are prohibited from driving. In various cities, they cannot access public parks and gyms. They cannot play sports. Beauty salons: run by women, for women; have been banned. The public stoning and flogging of women has been reinforced to punish them for “moral crimes”.
Previous chief prosecutor on the elimination of violence against women at the Attorney General's Office of Afghanistan, Najia Mahmodi, says to NPR, “Just two and a half years ago, we diligently prosecuted thousands of cases each year involving violations of women's rights… However, since the Taliban takeover, the entire legal system of Afghanistan has collapsed." Mahmodi explains that if someone were to falsely accuse a woman of, for example, adultery, there is no institution remaining that could defend her.
“This is the worst period, not only in the history of Afghanistan, but for all humanity.” A former judge, choosing to remain anonymous in fear of the Taliban’s retaliation, tells NPR her story. As a child, in the 1990s, when the Taliban last held power, she watched a public flogging of a woman, and was inspired to pursue a career in justice. She says, “I think about the stoning in the ‘90s and it feels like nothing has changed.”
Nevertheless, the bravery and resilience of Afghan women and activists persists. Over 100 organizations across the globe provide support and resources to these women. Humira Saqib directs the Afghan Women’s News Agency, a women-led media outlet, and the only Afghan news source that exclusively reports on women’s issues. Reporting in both of Afghanistan’s official languages: Dari and Pashto, as well as English, they ensure accessibility to readers throughout the country. Saqib and her team escaped Afghanistan just before Taliban take over, and, despite Taliban bans on female journalists, have continued to cover the news. Despite their government’s attempt to erase women’s voices, her team persists. She says, in an article published by Counterpart International, “we want our fundamental rights, which can be achieved only by our collective lobby and advocacy for Afghan women at the national and international levels.”
The documentary, Bread and Roses, released in 2023, tells the story of Afghan women under the rule of the Taliban. Produced by the familiar faces of Oscar winner, Jennifer Lawrence and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, and directed by Afghan filmmaker, Sahra Mani, the film focuses on three women, secretly filming their experiences. Released on Apple TV+, the documentary shows western audiences the reality that these women endure. In response to the dangers of speaking out against the Taliban, Lawrence states in an interview with CBS, that the “stakes were too high to stay silent”. Malala Yousafzai, who is known for both her survival of a Taliban attack in 2012, as well as her ongoing activism for women’s rights, tells CBS, “What really shook me was the fact that people stand with you once you have survived, but we don’t look at people who are still under a big threat. Let’s share our solidarity with them.”
Without activism shown by these women, there is no hope of equality or freedom for the women suffering: across the globe and in Afghanistan. From our privileged position, in this country, we must begin and continue to speak out for the millions of women who cannot.
Sources:
2023 Women, Peace & Security Index
Women’s Rights in Afghanistan: A Timeline | Best Countries | U.S. News
Women in Afghanistan: The Back Story
Misunderstood Terms and Practices | Learning for Justice.
Taliban bans windows to stop women from being seen at home | The Independent
Tracking the Taliban's (Mis)Treatment of Women | United States Institute of Peace
Taliban affirms that stoning will be punishment for adulterers — especially women
The Bravery of Female Journalists in Afghanistan - Counterpart International
