In the latest edict released by the Taliban, women are barred from publicly speaking, singing, reading—including the Quran—reciting poetry, laughing, or even crying aloud outside of their homes. These actions are deemed inappropriate under the Taliban’s narrow interpretation of Islam.
In the years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MPVPV) has enacted a series of stringent decrees that seek to govern how people, particularly women, behave in public. To date, Taliban authorities have issued over seventy edicts that intensified restrictions on Afghan women and girls. These measures drastically limit the rights and freedoms of women and severely impact various facets of their lives, such as their access to education, employment, healthcare, travel, sports, and recreation. The Taliban have effectively removed women from participating in the political landscape of Afghanistan.
Almost immediately after taking control, the Taliban shut down secondary schools for girls, effectively denying them an education beyond the age of twelve. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where secondary and higher education is completely prohibited for girls and women. According to UNESCO, 1.4 million Afghan girls are deliberately deprived of access to schooling. Individuals who attempt to find ways around the restrictions in order to pursue their education are also targeted.
Repressive Rules
In February 2024, the Taliban in Kandahar issued directives instructing school principals to prohibit girls aged ten and above from attending classes below the sixth grade. In the same directive, the Taliban mandated that girls in grades four to six must wear face coverings during their journey to school. In March 2024, the Taliban closed several female educational centers in Kabul simply for registering female students beyond 6th grade. Private institutions offering education to female students have also been forced to adhere to these rules or otherwise face harsh consequences. Several underground and online schools have emerged to provide education for Afghan girls, but they function under the constant threat of danger.
After re-assuming power in August 2021, the Taliban implemented a series of restrictions that have significantly limited women’s ability to work outside of the home. Immediately after their takeover, the Taliban replaced the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. At the same time, women working for the Ministry of Finance were told to send a male relative in their place to assume their roles, effectively eliminating many female civil servants. Professional and working women were ordered to stay home with few exceptions. For example, female journalists appearing on television were ordered to wear hijab and cover their faces, only leaving their eyes visible. The same dress codes were also enforced upon female hospital staff in Kabul. The Taliban also imposed a complete ban on women working for national and international NGOs and removed all female flight attendants from state-run airlines. They further mandated that women operating private businesses, such as bakeries located outside their homes, shut down their operations.
These policies have compelled many women to relinquish their roles across diverse sectors, including education, healthcare, business, and civil service. The rationale provided by the Taliban for these restrictions often hinges on their interpretation of Islamic law and traditional gender roles, which they argue dictates that women should primarily focus on domestic responsibilities. As a result, the economic and social contributions of women have been drastically curtailed, exacerbating poverty and further limiting access to services for families.
Under the current regime, women face severe restrictions on their freedom of movement. They are barred from traveling more than 75 kilometers (roughly 46 miles) from their homes unless accompanied by a male guardian or mahram. The Taliban have also banned women from participating in recreational activities like going to the gym and playing sports. Women are also restricted from entry to certain parks, like Band-e-Amir National Park in Bamiyan Province. Single women, including divorcees and widows, are left to the mercy of their male relatives. This limitation significantly curtails their independence and ability to effectively navigate the world beyond the confines of their homes.
Moreover, the Taliban has taken steps to erase women’s visibility from public life, prohibiting their representation on television and in advertisements, including the use of billboards and mannequins. Currently, no women serve as ministers, judges, or lawyers, eliminating female legal professionals. This systematic exclusion not only reinforces their marginalization but also conveys a chilling message regarding their status in society under Taliban rule.
Healthcare access for women has also been severely restricted, as the Taliban insists that women can only seek medical treatment from female healthcare providers. This policy is particularly contradictory, given that they simultaneously deny women educational opportunities, highlighting the inconsistency in their approach to women’s rights. This restriction, combined with the already critical state of healthcare in Afghanistan—where maternal and child mortality rates rank among the highest globally—poses a grave threat to the health and well-being of Afghan women and children.
Mental health support is scarce, leaving many women struggling with depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder without proper care. The dire economic landscape has also resulted in heartbreaking situations where families resort to selling young girls to relieve debt. Recent studies show that the stark majority of suicide attempts in Afghanistan are made by women.
The Taliban has weaponized their interpretation of Islam to enforce strict dress codes, including mandatory burqas and facial coverings, and has issued edicts that prevent women from wearing bright colors, high heels, or perfume—believing these may attract male attention. Reports indicate that women and girls accused of breaching Taliban dress codes have been arrested, detained, and subjected to public humiliation.
In July 2023, the Taliban further restricted women’s rights by banning beauty salons, depriving women of both income and communal spaces. They justified this decision by targeting specific services they deemed incompatible with Islamic principles, such as eyebrow shaping and makeup application, claiming these practices interfere with necessary religious rituals.
The closure of beauty salons not only robs women of their livelihoods but also eliminates safe spaces for them to gather, socialize, and find support among one another. This ban exemplifies the Taliban’s oppressive control over women’s bodies and personal choices, dictating what is considered acceptable according to their interpretation of Islam.
The Taliban have also carried out targeted violence against individuals challenging their ideology, particularly women’s rights activists, whom they accuse of being influenced by Western culture. While many Afghan men support women’s rights, they hesitate to voice their opinions due to fear of repercussions from the Taliban.
A Call for Global Action
UN Secretary-General António Guterres vowed that the UN “will never allow gender-based discrimination to become normalized anywhere in the world.” Yet Afghan women feel abandoned and frustrated with the international community’s lack of decisive action in response to the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan. There is a particularly profound sense of betrayal and disappointment towards the United States, which they once relied on for support in their struggle for equality and empowerment.
Although the United States has yet to recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government, the group strives to attract international attention by continuing to impose harsh restrictions on women and girls under the guise of Islam. While these actions may appear counterproductive to their goals, they serve as a means for the group to provoke responses from the international community, particularly the United States. Through these decrees, the Taliban aims to coerce countries into not only recognizing their authority, but also lifting sanctions that have frozen their assets and restricted their travel.
The United States must prioritize integrating women’s rights safeguards into all dialogues with the Taliban, emphasizing their connection to human rights and overall security. This approach must include the U.S. government’s consistent condemnation of gender-based violence and sustained sanctions against Taliban officials responsible for such abuses, alongside demands to restore the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls.
Additionally, the United States must provide assistance to grassroots organizations that work to empower women and girls in Afghanistan. It is particularly necessary to provide support and funds to organizations that facilitate underground education for women and girls in Afghanistan.
As the United States and the rest of the global community grapple with its role in promoting human rights, Afghan women continue to call for tangible support, solidarity, and action. They seek not just sympathy but a commitment to ensuring that their rights are respected and upheld, emphasizing that the fight for gender equality transcends borders and should be a priority for all nations.