Washington, DC., October 18, 2024 ——
This year is an election year in the United States and one of the important topics on the ballot is the rights of women to make decisions about their bodies, about their lives. But what if it was not limited to reproductive rights? What if the rights of women and girls to get an education, to hold a job, to move freely in society, to socialize with friends, or to accept or reject marriage were on the ballot? What if in America, those rights were being restricted or controlled? That is what is happening to the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.
During the UN General Assembly (UNGA) last month, actress Meryl Streep deepened the stark reality for Afghan women and girls. She noted that a cat can sit on the porch and feel the warmth of the sun, but women in Afghanistan must be covered from head to toe – making it impossible to feel the sun’s rays on their faces. In Afghanistan, a squirrel might run into a park to play, but girls cannot play in a park or attend school. Nor can women join their friends in a public place. The Taliban ordered that beauty salons throughout the country be closed, eliminating the one place women could freely socialize with other women. In Afghanistan, a bird may sit on a branch and sing a beautiful song, but women and girls are not permitted to sing in public. Animals have more freedom in Afghanistan than the female human population.
However, it is important to understand that the policies the Taliban have implemented do not define, nor do they reflect the teachings of Islam. The Quran teaches that men and women are equal in the eyes of God (Q33:73). The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) instructed that women are to be valued and respected. In Islam, women and girls have the right to be educated and to hold leadership roles. The Quran also teaches that women have the right to accept or reject marriage and to divorce. It is not Islam that is restrictive to the rights of women and girls, but it is the male practitioners in some Muslim countries who are strict towards females. The Taliban is one such group.
Forced Into Silence
Females make up more than half the population in Afghanistan. For two decades, women and girls lived in freedom. They attended school and university, developed careers, became doctors, and lawyers, held leadership roles, and served in government. In the 2004 presidential election in Afghanistan, women cast 41% of the vote.
So, what changed? The US-Taliban deal or the Doha Accord was a deal negotiated by the Trump administration and the Taliban in February 2020. Wrapped in secrecy, the negotiations did not include the (democratically elected) then-Afghan government and ultimately led to the collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. The deal was unanimously approved by the UN Security Council and stipulated the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan, the detailed withdrawal of US forces, and the end of economic sanctions.
But the deal was also contingent upon the Taliban honoring its commitments to the Doha Accord, which it immediately began to infract. As the US was completing its full evacuation in August 2021, the Taliban forcibly took control of the country and immediately reneged on every point it had previously agreed to. Could the evacuation of Afghanistan, carried out by the Biden administration have gone better? Sure. But no one, not even highly experienced military commanders and diplomats or intel predicted that the Taliban would take Kabul as quickly as it did, making any planned evacuation challenging.
Since the Taliban returned to power, the repression of women’s rights has been representative of gender apartheid. The human rights record in Afghanistan is the worst in the world. For the past three years, the de facto authorities have issued more than 100 restrictive decrees, stripping women and girls of all their rights and forcing them into silence.
The Taliban banned women from working for NGOs as well as from working for the United Nations. In the Taliban’s war against women, it would like to erase the majority female population from existence. But Afghanistan cannot be rebuilt without women and outrage over what is happening in the country is not enough. It is time for action.
Dialogue, Sanctions, and Restoring Rights
The blatant human rights violations and draconian punishments (women are being stoned to death) have erased two decades of freedom and progress. However, there are still some powerful actors in the international community who could very well shift the dynamic in Afghanistan – even with the Taliban in control.
One solution is through the use of sanctions. The Taliban wants to engage with the UN. It wants legitimacy in its claim to be the governing body in Afghanistan. Although dialogue does not legitimize the de facto authority – dialogue could encourage change as progress has been made concerning other issues in the country.
Another solution would be to make restoring the rights of women and girls a condition to receive funds. The Taliban insists that its restrictions on the rights of women and girls are an “internal matter”. The UN Security Council could make addressing the issue a matter contingent on the money – raising the expectancy of human rights standards in Afghanistan and receiving funds, bilateral. The Security Council should be specific on the actions and policies required to gain access to funds, rather than using generalizations and vague language. There should be more support for organizations working towards peace and justice in Afghanistan, especially as they relate to the rights of women and girls.
Beyond the gross human rights violations, more than 20 million people require humanitarian assistance. There have been several earthquakes in Afghanistan across the last two years impacting the population in those areas of more than 154,000 people. Since the world’s withdrawal in 2021, at least 15.8 million people face acute food insecurity. There is a widespread water crisis. Access to health care is extremely limited. Some 6.5 million people are internally displaced.
If the Taliban wants legitimacy in governing, respect, and the opportunity to engage with the United Nations, perhaps it should start by relaxing its restrictions against the majority of the population of Afghanistan and allow women and girls the opportunity to participate in society. But the first step is proving that the Taliban is a legitimate government for all of Afghanistan’s citizens.
Standing Strong with Afghan Women and Girls
My team served in Afghanistan from April 2021 and beyond – part of my team is still there. We were investigating human rights violations committed by the Taliban against women and girls. Three years ago today, I was shot by a Taliban member. That could have been the end of me. But it wasn’t. Although I did not return to Afghanistan, I have not abandoned my support for Afghan women and girls. I’ve been given a voice and a platform to stand up for human rights. If that means that I have to get political, social, or whatever it might be, I’m 100% comfortable with that, and no bullet from the Taliban will ever change that.
With gratitude… Lara
Photo Credit: March for Freedom for Afghan Women and Girls by Garry Knight. Licensed with CCO 1.0
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Lara Kajs is the founder and executive director of The Genocide Report, a nonprofit NGO in Washington DC. She is the author of Stories from Yemen: A Diary from the Field, and the forthcoming, Assad’s Syria: Displacement, Torture, and Mass Execution. Ms. Kajs frequently speaks about atrocity crimes, forced displacement, and international human rights. Follow and connect with Lara Kajs on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn