Women's Rights: The Taliban And The Pakistani Taliban

Before Malala Yousafzai took a stand for children’s rights, countries throughout the Middle East were brutally oppressed by the Taliban. The Taliban are a radically militant Islamic movement that controlled some ninety percent of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001 (“The Taliban Once Ruled”). In 2007, a faction of the Taliban regrouped across the border in Pakistan, invading northern cities including Mingora, a region in Swat Valley. These fundamentalist terrorists were brutal and rapidly became the dominant socio-political force in northern Pakistan (“Education in Pakistan”). The Taliban executed those who resisted and didn’t follow their harsh laws. According to a resident of Swat Valley, “we were very scared of them. Our education system was totally

The Taliban had a large number of restrictions placed on the rights of Afghan women. They were not allowed to work anywhere outside of their home. This meant that a woman could not be a professional in any type of job. Women also could not deal with any male shopkeeper or doctors.

Today in the post –Taliban era, women still struggle with their rights. Resolutions were produced and rights for women have advanced since September 11th but in order to move forward, much work needs to be done. Hundreds of years of repression for Afghan women will take a lot longer than a few years to actually revolutionize. There is violence towards women that are not practicing traditions customs and fear retaliations from the Taliban. Customs are difficult to change as well as government policies. (Bora Laskin Law). In Afghanistan, religious and cultural values, politics, and an uncertain acting government have played a major part in the struggle for women’s rights.

The Constitution that was created in Afghanistan during the 1920’s, stated equal rights for women and men. In fact, during the year of 1959, new policies created educational and career opportunities and voluntary removal of having to wear the burka. Women’s roles become similarly equivalent to male roles; they had the opportunity to acquire knowledge from universities, and were provided jobs in industrial, business, and entertainment settings. The atrocities that came about during the Mujaheddin and Taliban control were unheard of years prior, when women lived in peace and prosperity

The Taliban’s rules are strict and focus on Islam. There are a lot of restrictions against women. The Taliban treat women harshly with their laws. The stated aim of the Taliban was to “create a

Education is what provides us the opportunity to learn new things and it helps to build our knowledge by expanding horizon. After Dawood Khan, the president of Afghanistan was assassinated by PDPA during 1970s and Afghanistan had become democratic and republic, education for girls was required. There were certain social reforms such as banning burqas and raising the minimum age for marriage. However, the invasions of Soviet, Mujahideen and Taliban forces revoked several women’s rights. Under the Taliban rule, women were imprisoned in their homes. Girls were forbidden from attending a school and were beaten if found alone in the street. Punishments were hard if their discriminatory laws were violated. (“Women in Afghanistan: The Back Story”). Even though women have gained some political rights now after the Taliban rule in 2001, but there are still many afghan

The Taliban is an extremist Islamic group highly emphasizing a strong interpretation of sharia law that arose in the early 1990s after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Referencing the BBC article, a common belief holds that the Taliban first emerged in religious seminaries that preached a hard line of Sunni Islam. The Taliban’s promise to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the surrounding area was to restore peace and security using their interpretation of the sharia law once they were in power (“Who Are the Taliban?”). Along with the many new policies and regulations of society, there arose a new interpretation of the role of women in society. Women became very restricted and had to live in a way that was extremely submissive to men to the point where it was almost dehumanizing, as many would argue. Although the Taliban has been out of control in Afghanistan since December of 2001, remnants of their oppression towards women remain. In this paper, I will demonstrate the Taliban’s remaining effects in Afghan society regarding many aspects of everyday life, such as the workforce, education, healthcare, and human rights. To begin, I will give a brief overview of how Afghan women participated in society before the Taliban came to power. I will then provide information and examples that shed light on women’s life during Taliban rule. In the final section of this paper, I will describe how the lifestyle of women has changed as a result of the Taliban’s oppressive laws and

Before the rise of the Taliban in the early 1990s, women in Afghanistan were mostly treated as equals and with respect. Though women were still expected to be

To begin with, life for women before the Taliban ruled Afghanistan was fairly normal. Before 1996 when the Taliban ruled, women held seats in parliament,

Though they changed a few of their rules slightly,In Afghanistan there are lots of things that are going on that ruin the country’s name. There is violence, population attacks, suicides, sexual harrasments, etc; and who can forget about the famous Taliban group. These are some of the reasons why Afghanistan is a dystopian country. Lots of people have suffered death wise in Afghanistan around 2015. They most likely died because of either to Taliban’s bombing or a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or hurricane. They attack people who do not deserve it, but they all think that whoever is different from them should have to pay for it. Women in Afghanistan are treated differently than men because of the Taliban. The Taliban is over control

Since the beginning of time, women have had to fight rigorously for basic human rights. In the western stratosphere, those human rights were achieved in the early 20th century, but in a lot of eastern countries the battle for the women is just beginning, or worse hasn't even started. Women in Afghanistan have been subject to heinous circumstances, even though their religion, Islam "demanded that men and women be equal before God,"(Qazi). Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner offers a very insightful view of the governing politics of Afghanistan pre-Taliban regime and during the Taliban regime, and the differing situation of women in both those eras. Based on the book and outside research, it is evident that the situation of women in

The reason I chose to study Islamic Feminism and Afghanistan, is that for many people, these words do not belong in the same sentence. Afghanistan has come to be recognized as a country that follows strict and fundamentalist Islam, hindering the lives of women and even damaging their lives. Since I entered high school, Afghanistan has been known to me and my generation as a country

Women’s right is one issue that is constantly evolving in Afghanistan, however after the third Anglo-Afghan war, their rights were on par with many Western countries (10). This war ended in 1919 and resulted in another change of leadership, this was the beginning of a promising time for Afghanistan women (12). Certain women were able to vote in 1919, only a year after England who many believe are a pioneer of equality for both genders (3). During the 1950’s, Afghanistan introduced Purdah, abolishing gender separation and during the 1960’s the constitution was officially changed for equality between both genders in Afghanistan (3). These changes to the legal system showed that Afghanistan was a relatively equal place for men and women to live and was contrary to how most of the global population view the treatment of women in Afghanistan. The 1979 invasion by Soviet forces greatly changed the scope of the country, leaving women to be classified as second-hand citizens

On September 11, 2001 Al Qaida operatives took control of four airplanes that would kill more than a thousand innocent Americans souls. This attack on American soil will be forever remembered. When the World Trade Center towers crumbled, the Pentagon was on fire, and when an airplane plunged into an empty field, the war on terrorism was declared. The investigation to find the people responsible for these attacks led the U.S forces to Afghanistan. At the time an Islamic fundamentalist group, the Taliban, was governing the country that allegedly offered safe haven to terrorist groups including Al Qaida. That same year, the Taliban was ousted by an American-led invasion in Afghanistan, which in turn put a magnifying glass on the severe social restrictions that were inflicted on the Afghan people and also on the Pakistani people living near the border. Women especially were and continue to be treated in a despicable manner and punished severely for minor infractions like having uncovered ankles. It is a totalitarian regime that has banned education for girls over the age of ten and has hindered an individual’s freedom. Although the Taliban forbids girl’s education among other things, the stories of exceptionally brave young women motivate parents to challenge this Islamic law. It will likely take a lot of time and effort in the coming years for women to be considered first class citizens in any Islamic republic.

“The Afghans concluded a treaty of friendship with the new Bolshevik regime in the Soviet Union. During soviet influence, the country had made progressive strides for women rights: “In 1964, Afghan women were granted the right to vote. The 1977 constitution clearly stated in its article 27 that “women and men, without discrimination have equal rights and obligations before the law. By the late 1970’s, female students outnumbered male students in Kabul. (Noury & Speciale, 2016) Even the