Afghan women raise concern over Taliban's new rule

KABUL: Ever since the Taliban took over control of Afghanistan, large-scale and systematic gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls has been ongoing in the country, which has apparently witnessed a downfall trend.

Local women have expressed worries over the way they have to live under the Taliban.

According to Afghan Peace Watch, there are now newly imposed restrictions on Afghan women and girls in Herat province. They are not allowed to move freely in women's parks but only on specified days, and family sections in restaurants are closed down by law; however, most citizens didn't heed that restriction.

A 22-year-old girl, Rehana Ahmadian said that they used to go to the park to take a stroll as her mother had high blood cholesterol based on a doctor's advice but ever since the Taliban came to power, they warned us not to leave homes without a male guardian; we lost all independence compared to the former government despite women's parks are separate from men's.

"Taliban have nothing else to do but suppress women since coming into power, and they have imprisoned us all women at home," Asila Misbah, a women's rights activist based in Herat said.

"I used to eat food in restaurants with my family most of the time, but now due to Taliban restrictions on women, I can't spend an hour with my family outside. Everything we do is in an uncertain manner and we fear retribution even though we tread carefully," she added.

Similarly, in Zabul province, the Taliban have recently threatened men not to allow women to attend wedding ceremonies.

The erosion of women's rights has been one of the most notable aspects of the de facto administration to date.

Before the Taliban came to power, women and girls had progressively had their rights to fully participate in education, the workplace and other aspects of public and daily life. It has been a year since the Taliban deprived Afghan women of education, work and public life.

This is while former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, recently claimed that Afghan girls were prohibited from school by order of Pakistan.

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has drawn heavy criticism across the world for a decree banning girls from school above grade sixth. It has been over 300 days since girls' schools have been closed, Kabul's officials have said that it depends upon the order of the leader of the Taliban.

A decision taken by the Taliban prevented girls from returning to secondary school which meant that a generation of girls will not complete their full 12 years of basic education.

At the same time, access to justice for victims of gender-based violence has been limited by the dissolution of dedicated reporting pathways, justice mechanisms and shelters.

Taliban official has said that the schools for female students are closed for religious issues and that there is a need for agreement of Islamic scholars on this matter and that opposing the decision of the Islamic clerics regarding the schools will have negative consequences.

Meanwhile, girls who have been prevented from going to school for more than eleven months are asking the Taliban to reopen schools for them, reported Tolo News.