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From The New York Times, I'm Sabrina Tavernise. This is "daily".
[theme music]
Two years after the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, what was feared has now become a reality. The Taliban shut out women and girls. My colleague Christina Goldbaum has traveled throughout Afghanistan talking to women about how they are coping with these changes. What she found was not what she expected. Today she brings us the stories of three women.
Today is Monday, June 5th.
So, Christina, the last time we talked about Afghanistan on the show was last summer. And, at the time, the Taliban banned young women from high school. You went to Afghanistan earlier this year to report. Let's understand what's going on.
certainly. So keep in mind that after the Taliban take power in August 2021, there are a lot of questions about how far the Taliban will go in their treatment of women and girls. During that time, we saw governments start to take back some of their rights. But what we've seen in recent months is the introduction of increasingly restrictive policies by the Taliban government that in many ways have just erased women and girls from public life.
- Archive recording 1
Well, the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan have imposed another restriction on women.
Last November, they completely banned women from public spaces such as parks and gyms.
- Archive recording 2
The Ministry of Virtue said the ban was imposed because people were ignoring gender segregation rules and women were not wearing headscarves.
Then in December—
[chatter]
- Archive recording 3
Tears were shed in classrooms as female students realized the Taliban had barred them from university.
— They expanded educational restrictions and barred women from college.
- Archive recording 4
Effectively barring women and girls from secondary school to college.
[chanting]
Then, shortly after that, they introduced another ban --
- Archive recording 5
Some large aid organizations have now halted operations in Afghanistan.
— This prevents women from working in international NGOs —
- Archived recordings 6
Any such groups that continue to employ women will have their licenses revoked, according to the Ministry of Economy.
- Then, a few months later, they were also banned from working in all UN agencies in Afghanistan.
What we're really seeing now is how the Taliban's treatment of women has set the country on a path to total isolation on the world stage. These policies have been condemned almost universally, including by other Islamic governments such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. A few months ago, the United Nations also released a report that said the regime's policies towards women amounted to gender apartheid.
So it was just a relentless crackdown, and now it's getting worse. Women have lost almost all their freedom in Afghan society and everyone can see this. what do you do there What are you curious about?
Yes. So the latest restrictions really feel like a turning point for women's rights under the Taliban. It often feels like almost every door in this country is closed to women these days. But I know that as a response to these policies, the women we hear the responses most often — the most amplified responses — tend to be women in Kabul, well-educated English-speaking people. But that's really only a fraction of the women in the country.
So on this trip, I wanted to talk to other women from other parts of the country to gain a more nuanced understanding. So a couple of my colleagues and I traveled all over Afghanistan, talking to women from all walks of life and trying to understand all the changes they've gone through in the past few months.
So where did your journey begin?
So the first stop of our journey came to Wardak Province.
- Christina Goldbaum
It is around 12 o'clock now. We've just spent the last hour or so on these winding roads in central Afghanistan.
It's a province west of Kabul, and a very rural area at that.
- Christina Goldbaum
Everything around—the mud-brick houses, the ground—was of this gray color. The village sits somewhat at the foot of these mountains, overlooking this valley--
The place we went was called Tangi Valley. It's a very conservative place with strong ties to this administration.
- Christina Goldbaum
In fact, the valley is famous for the large number of American troops who died here.
The province is mostly home to Pashtuns. This is the main ethnic group of the Taliban. So, given how intense the violence the region experienced during the war --
- Christina Goldbaum
So we're on this very narrow, kind of icy trail.
- I want to understand what this new era is like for the women out there.
- Christina Goldbaum
We're going to a woman's house, and we're going to talk to her about how she—
So I entered this village.
[knocking]
- speaker
[non-English speech]
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
I met a woman named Aisha.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
- Christina Goldbaum
Thank you so much for inviting us to your home. For that, I'm really grateful.
She lived in a small brick house at the foot of the hill overlooking the valley. She has a wrinkled face, is not tall, and walks around the room.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
- translator
[non-English speech]
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
She told me she was about 65 or 70 years old.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
She doesn't know her exact age as they keep no official records of any kind. We sat on the dusty wool rug on the floor, along with several other elders from the village and several of her grandchildren, who ran in and out of the room. She started telling me about her life.
- Christina Goldbaum
Where did she grow up? where was she born
- translator
[non-English speech]
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
She said she grew up poor in rural Wardak.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
I asked her if she ever went to school and she said no.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
(Video) The New Afghanistan, Through the Eyes of Three Women
There wasn't even a girls' elementary school where she grew up. There is a boys' school, but girls are not allowed to go.
- they are burning
No. No. [non-English speaking]
Then, when she was around 16, her father told her that she had to marry a man from a neighboring village. Shortly after her marriage, her first husband died. She then remarried to someone else in Tangi Valley and they started a family. She has three sons and four daughters. They have a small piece of land where they grow beans and wheat. There were never too many of them, but they at least had enough to live on.
- translator
[non-English speech]
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
Then the war started.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
She told me how she remembered American tanks running through the village. At that time, initially, she kind of hoped that America might be there to help improve conditions in this community. Then, pretty quickly, she realized that wasn't the case.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
As the years went by, the Taliban had a lot of indigenous support in the region. In her village, many young people have joined the movement. Many families offered support. That means the fighting there gets pretty intense.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
Her version was that when they left the house, death was their companion. People are often killed. It got so bad that at one point, they even moved to another village to try and escape the fighting. But it didn't take long for the disaster to reach her home as well.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
She told me about a night about ten years ago when she and her family went to a wedding in a nearby village. After the festivities, her second son Shirin stayed in the house where the wedding took place. He planned to spend the night there with a few people he knew, including some Taliban fighters. Although we cannot be sure, she insisted to me that her son was not a member of the Taliban.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
That night, the house was hit in what she said was an air strike and her son was killed.
God. How old is her son?
22 years old.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
From that moment on, she said, she decided not to help or work with either side of this war. She will not help the Taliban. She will not help Americans. She said she hated all soldiers. She hated the war. But it just keeps taking away from her.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
- translator
[non-English speech]
- Christina Goldbaum
Can she come, yes, and show us what's going on?
After she told me that story, she took me outside the front door of her house—
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
- Explain the second tragedy that happened to her and her family. That was years later, after her son Shireen was killed.
- translator
[non-English speech]
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
She attended another wedding with her oldest son Farouk and his children and his wife. At this point, she said, she was so used to the war that she would often hold a flashlight and point it at herself so anyone who was looking would know she was a woman. She is not a fighter. She is not a soldier.
Wow.
And this night, it was already very late. It was about 9:30 when she heard the gunshot. Then she heard her son make a sound. She turned and shone the flashlight on him. She saw him stagger a few steps back and fell to the ground.
- Christina Goldbaum
Where are the checkpoints?
- speaker
You can see it from the top of the hill.
- Christina Goldbaum
On that hilltop?
- speaker
[non-English speech]
- Christina Goldbaum
Yes.
She said he was shot by U.S.-backed Afghan forces. So she ran to him.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
And she still remembers leaning a little on him—
- Christina Goldbaum
She grabbed his hand as he fell to the ground. She put his hands on her legs?
- put his hand on her leg, where he left it when he died.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
- Christina Goldbaum
So then she always said, don't cross the road?
Goodness, her second son.
Yes.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
- speaker
[non-English speech]
- Christina Goldbaum
So when she walked out the front door, she saw her youngest son's grave. When she went out the back door, she saw the grave of her eldest son. both. Oh dear, I'm so sorry.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
So you can imagine the celebrations in her village when the Taliban seized power and took over Kabul.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
- speaker
[non-English speech]
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
She remembers crying with joy that the war was finally over. Now, she says, she feels this sense of peace and security. She can travel and see relatives she hasn't seen in years. She can comfortably leave home.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
Now she says that when she goes to the market or goes to the river to do her laundry, she doesn't worry if I will come home alive. How does she have this newfound freedom now that the war is over.
So normal life is back, which is a huge relief. But what about all the changes the Taliban have made since taking over? What does she say about it?
Well, she does admit that, in many ways, her life is more difficult now.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
With the economy collapsing after the Taliban took power, her family was really just scraping by. Her one surviving son didn't have much work to do. Sometimes they had nothing to eat for their supper but bread and tea. When I asked her what she thought of the government's specific restrictions on women, she said she disagreed with them.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
She believed that women should be educated. She argues that even though a woman's main role in Afghanistan is to lead a family, she would do better if she had been educated. At one point she pointed to her granddaughter, who was sitting beside her with her head on her lap. She also said that she was afraid that her granddaughter would grow up to be like her, uneducated and illiterate. She will not have a brighter future.
But for her, after 20 years of war — the loss she’s experienced, the violence her family has endured — the idea of educating girls is seen as a luxury for her. To her, it's more important than just being alive and surviving.
So Ayesha is basically saying here that her willingness to tolerate these extreme policies against women and girls if it ultimately means safety is just a very real human response to the violence of war.
This is.
- they are burning
[non-English speech]
She even told me that she would gladly starve to death that night, as long as it meant the war wouldn't return.
These are the standards by which she judges this administration and the policies it is implementing. But we went to women in another nearby province and it felt very different.
We'll be right back.
So, Christina, tell me about the next province you go to. What happened there?
- Christina Goldbaum
So it's around 10:30am and we're in Bamiyan.
So a few weeks later I went to Bamiyan. It is located in the province west of Wardak, an area mainly home to the Hazaras. It is a minority in Afghanistan. They are Shia, not Sunni like the Taliban. The group has historically faced much persecution in the country.
Very different from Ayesha and her community in Wardak.
Exactly.
- Christina Goldbaum
When the Taliban first came to power in the 1990s, a lot of people were killed here.
Then, after the first Taliban government was overthrown, Hazaras across Afghanistan benefited greatly from U.S. intervention. They went to college and got their degrees. It's like a 180 degree turn. Things have completely changed. So when the Taliban came back to power, there was great concern about what this chapter of Afghan history meant for them.
- Christina Goldbaum
We came here to meet a woman who went on to teach high school girls. So I put on a mask. We try to keep a low profile.
One reason I particularly wanted to be there was because we'd been talking to this teacher-turned-activist who runs a secret girls' school in Bamiyan.
Secret school?
Yes. An underground school.
- Christina Goldbaum
The neighborhood we're in right now is kind of tucked away in the mountainside. We're just trying to figure out where the hell it is.
Finally, we came to this house that looked like any other house. We went in.
- bless
[non-English speech]
Inside, these three rooms were transformed into three small classrooms.
- bless
[non-English speech]
We walked into one, and there were dozens of high school-age girls. In physics class, they sat on rickety wooden benches with this whiteboard in front of them. Most of them were wearing winter clothes because it was still cold and the rooms were not heated.
- bless
[non-English speech]
They're all sitting there with these battered notebooks and pencils in their hands.
So this might look like a normal classroom. But in fact, this is a very violent act of resistance.
This is. I mean, it's an incredibly risky job these students and these teachers are doing at this school.
- bless
[non-English speech]
But I'm looking at this teacher at the front of the room, and she's as confident as ever. You'd think nothing they did was illegal.
After class, we sat down with her to talk about the school and her students.
So tell me about her.
- Christina Goldbaum
Here we start with Hamida. Hamida, how old are you?
- speaker
[non-English speech]
- bless
[non-English speech]
- speaker
25.
So her name is Hamida. She is 25 years old. She has dark auburn hair that falls out from behind a hood.
- bless
[non-English speech]
She explained to me that she used to teach at a private school in Bamiyan, which she really loved.
- bless
[non-English speech]
But at one point, about six months after the Taliban took power, things suddenly changed for her.
- bless
[non-English speech]
She said there were some local Taliban officials who asked several women to send the message that this large gathering was going to be held like a workshop in support of women and children.
- bless
[non-English speech]
She said it seemed like every woman in town came to the meeting.
- bless
[non-English speech]
But when they get there, they start to think they've actually been scammed.
- bless
[non-English speech]
These posters on the wall are kind of pro-Taliban. They thought it seemed like local Taliban officials wanted to use the rally to take pictures and say, look at all these women who have gathered here to support this new government.
Well. So, in fact, this is not a workshop to help women at all, but just for their own PR.
Exactly.
- bless
[non-English speech]
(Video) Malala 'devastated' at Taliban's university ban for Afghan women - BBC News
As soon as Hamida realized this, he flew into a rage. She went to the back of the room and tore off one of the posters.
- bless
[non-English speech]
She then dropped a fiery speech about how she believed the Taliban did not represent them. She won't be here to represent that.
Wow. That's brave.
Yes. And one such video has been circulating on social media.
[cheer]
I mean, you can imagine what a bold move that was. This is a government that arrests and detains protesters and dissidents. This is a huge risk.
So basically, from then on, she felt like she was on her back with this goal.
- bless
[non-English speech]
She said some local Taliban officials showed up at the school where she worked. So she had to resign because she feared for her safety there. She almost hid. She stopped living in her family's house and started living with a friend. She never really left the house.
- bless
[non-English speech]
She described this moment as this dark time. Because it goes against all the instincts of her body to not talk or do something and just stay at home.
- bless
[non-English speech]
So when she started looking at what was going on with all these restrictions a few months later, she basically said, enough is enough. Last fall, she gathered several other teachers she knew and they decided to open the underground school for girls.
So how did she do it? what does she do?
So one of the teachers offered her house and said they could use it for the classroom. They took some chairs and benches that the teacher had used at the private school where she worked and moved them into the house. They chipped in to buy a whiteboard and pens.
- bless
[non-English speech]
Then they walked for about a week, street to street, door to door in their neighborhood telling families they were starting school and trying to convince them they should send their daughter there.
What will the family say? I mean, what's the response?
I mean, a lot of parents are scared, and understandably so. But on the other hand, they are also very eager for their daughter to return to school. Because they've been sitting at home for months being very isolated, bored and depressed. A lot of them also really want their daughters to keep all the progress they made in school until then.
- bless
[non-English speech]
They had about 50 students show up the first day.
- bless
[non-English speech]
Then, by the end of the first week, that number had ballooned to 150 girls, all of whom were in classes there.
Wow.
- bless
[non-English speech]
Every family has something to contribute. The community provides material donations. And Hamida said she and the other teachers were as prepared as possible to hide the thing underground. They have students come at slightly different times, staggering their entrances and staggering their exits.
Wow.
Only people who are nearby really know about this school. They also keep an eye out for anyone they think might be a Taliban intelligence officer. It's really a whole community effort to keep this going and keep girls in the neighborhood going to school.
- bless
[non-English speech]
So are Bamiyan and secret schools an anomaly? Is this unusual for Afghanistan?
So it really isn't. Now there are probably hundreds of such underground schools for girls across the country.
hundreds? Wow.
Not long ago, we visited a school in Kandahar, the southern heart of the Taliban. There is an underground school there that operates in a very similar way. So across the country, since high schools closed, people have accepted that this is the new reality, and they feel like this administration under this leadership really has no chance of reopening high schools. They find ways to continue their education and continue to plant these seeds of hope for girls' futures.
But, Christina, isn't this a dead end at the end of these girls' days? Well, they can go to the secret school. But they don't have colleges to go to. They won't have jobs to go to.
This is real. And Hamida, these girls, they all recognize that. But I think what also motivates her is her knowledge that in order for women to have any hope of winning back their rights in Afghanistan, first they need to be educated. Hamida and the girls want to be ready for whatever comes next. Because they hope they can use this education to advance the country.
correct. So, Christina, you go to Wardak, where you meet Aisha, who feels freer since the return of the Taliban. Then you go to Bamiyan and meet Hamida who feels the opposite. where did you go next
Therefore, one of the most important restrictions introduced by the Taliban was the ban on women working for aid organizations and the United Nations. Because so many people in this country depend on these groups for their survival. I want to understand how the ban affects the women who depend on assistance every day.
- Christina Goldbaum
So it's around 5:00pm. We are located on the outskirts of the large city of Herat in the Northwest of Afghanistan.
So we went to Herat, a city in the northwest of the country. It borders Iran. It's known for the kind of poetry and art that comes out of it. But Herat is also surrounded by some of the country's poorest provinces.
- Christina Goldbaum
In the south there is Farah, which is almost a desert. To the east is Ghor, historically one of the poorest areas in Afghanistan. There is also Bagjhis in the north, which has been suffering from drought for the past few years.
As a result, over the past few decades, Hera has become a center for displaced people seeking assistance. Because many large aid organizations have bases in that city.
- Christina Goldbaum
We are in this settlement on the outskirts of the city where many such families have come in recent years. We are here -
We went to one of the camps where about 600 families lived.
- Christina Goldbaum
We came here to meet this 27 year old lady, Jamila. She was a widow and she helped organize a lot of the aid that came here.
It was there that I met this lady named Jamila.
- Christina Goldbaum
So, Jamila, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
- jamila
[non-English speech]
She moved to the camp after her husband died about five years ago. It was a really tough time. Because her husband, a casual worker, is the breadwinner for her and the children.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
She thought, well, maybe if I move to Herat and go to one of these camps, she will be closer to some aid organizations that can help her family. And, in a way, the plan kind of worked.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
She said they received food aid from organizations such as the World Food Programme. Over time, she kind of became a fixture of the aid groups working in the camps.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
So if they were going to hand out food on a certain day, they would call her and she would tell people they needed to be at this certain place at this certain time. If the other women in the camp needed anything, they would go to her. Then she had a phone number that people could call and say, hey, we need more flour. Hey, we need more oil. We need medical help. Ultimately, it is this assistance that has helped her family survive over the past five years.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
For a while, she even hoped that if things continued like this, she would be able to send her kids to school. She has such hopes.
But then the Taliban seized power. About a year later, they banned women from working in these aid organizations. Suddenly, it's much harder for women to get aid.
why?
So there are two parts to this. For one, even before the Taliban came to power, women in many parts of the country—especially those in rural areas—typically did not interact with men outside the home. So by banning women from working for aid organizations, it effectively cuts off women's direct access to aid allocations.
The second thing is that in response to the initial ban, some major aid organizations have also suspended their operations entirely while they try to figure out what to do.
OK So it's not just the Taliban that ban women from joining these aid groups. It is the aid groups themselves — their response to what the Taliban are doing — that are also making life harder for women. In other words, it's doubly bad for someone like Jamila.
Exactly.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
In practice, what this means for Jamila is that, on the one hand, some organizations no longer function. So this lifeline that she had -- people she could call for help -- and suddenly they told her, sorry, our operations are on hold. We can't come and deliver food parcels to you.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
On the other hand, there are still functioning aid organizations, many of which use only men for things like food distribution. Since Jamila was a widow, she had no husband to send in her place.
correct.
So it pretty much means she kind of loses access to the constant flow of food she used to have.
So it sounds like a really dire situation for her. How is her family surviving at this point?
- jamila
[non-English speech]
So she currently lives on the meager income she earns from making these handicrafts from wool and harvesting saffron during saffron season. People in the camp did everything they could to help her. But it's very difficult.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
She is really worried about her child's future now. Because she doesn't have food for them every day, and she also knows that she may not be able to send them to school. Because they will have to start making money as young as possible to help the family survive.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
And she is particularly worried that if this continues, in a few years, she will have to marry off her young daughter, or promise her to marry someone, in order to get the dowry money from the man's family.
So he sold his own daughter to buy vegetables.
Yes. I mean, it's a devastating prospect. This is the question many women across Afghanistan now face.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
She told me that now she feels completely hopeless. When she was young, she said, she had this hope that one day she would have a better life. Now -
- jamila
[non-English speech]
- She told me she would take her dream of a better life with her to her grave. Here's how she sees the current situation.
Yes. She is single-mindedly focused on basic survival. What her story really shows is that the world hasn't figured out how to help women in this state of gender apartheid.
Exactly. I mean, what Jamila is going through right now is the epitome of that predicament. correct? How has the world interacted with and responded to the Taliban? When I asked her what she thought of all this—
- jamila
[non-English speech]
— and she said she felt women suffered on both sides of the equation. On the one hand, Taliban policies are so restrictive for women that they don't have any chance to go to school, get a job, or provide for their families.
- Christina Goldbaum
That's what she's going to say to the Taliban. She would have something to say to NGOs that say okay, leave.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
On the other hand, she said, if she could talk to the heads of these international organizations, she would say, look at how my family is suffering.
- jamila
[non-English speech]
To be fair, these organizations are in an impossible situation. I mean, they are faced with a choice: either provide life-saving aid that might not reach women at all if they were only using men, or stick to these gender equality principles that are at the heart of many of their missions. It's a very tough place. But meanwhile, ordinary Afghans in the country are suffering while the rest of the world is trying to figure out what to do.
So back here, Christina, you traveled all over Afghanistan, far away from Kabul, and heard all these perspectives from women in different parts of the country. Basically, what have you learned from traveling and all these conversations?
So I know that under the leadership of the current Emir, it is clear that the Taliban government is determined to roll back women's rights. His vision of women in this country is a lot like the 90s. That hasn't changed.
Another thing that hasn't changed is that the international community, especially the West, is really struggling to develop any kind of coherent policy against Afghanistan. But one of the things that amazes me is how much women in different parts of the country have changed over the past 20 years. You can really hear that in the stories of these women.
Jamila has only a primary education. And yet she sat down with me so deeply against the recent policies of the Taliban. Hamida is from Bamiyan, a place with a horrific and devastating history with the Taliban. Yet she defies the Taliban's edicts day in and day out, at great risk.
Ayesha, a grandmother from a Taliban stronghold, was never educated herself. Yet even though she prefers life under Taliban rule, she still advocates for her granddaughter to attend high school. I mean, all of this is pretty incredible. It shows that while it may be easy for this administration to implement these restrictive policies, it will take longer and be more difficult to undo the values that have taken root in the country over the past 20 years.
- bless
[non-English speech]
Especially Hamida, who spoke to me about this very powerfully. But she also offered a caveat.
- bless
[non-English speech]
Women now have this window where they can maintain some of the gains they've made over the past 20 years, she said. But she worries about what will happen in five, 10 or 15 years if things continue the way they are now. In her words, it really sounds like a race against time.
It is a race against time as many women and girls now remember the times when women of that generation did have freedom. This does change things.
Exactly. She said if young girls today are not like their mums and sisters — if they don't see girls going to school, if they don't see women having any power in society, then it's over. All those gains are lost.
Thank you Christina.
Thanks so much for having me.
We'll be right back.
Here's what else you should know today.
- Archived Recordings (Joe Biden)
Now, a bipartisan budget deal.
President Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act into law on Saturday, ending the threat of economic disaster from a debt default, just two days after the government was running out of cash to pay its bills.
- Archived Recordings (Joe Biden)
Passing this budget deal is crucial. The stakes couldn't be higher.
In an address to the nation from the Oval Office on Friday night, Biden praised the bipartisanship that led to the deal.
- Archived Recordings (Joe Biden)
This is great news for the American people. No one gets everything they want, but the American people get what they need.
A train accident in eastern India on Friday killed 275 people in one of the deadliest accidents in Indian history. Officials investigating the crash are focusing on the possibility of a signal failure leading to disaster. The accident has cast a pall over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to modernize India's infrastructure, which he has made a central theme of his campaign for a third term.
Today's show is produced by Asthaa Chaturvedi and Clare Toeniskoetter with help from Eric Krupke and Nina Feldman. It was edited by Anita Badejo and features original music by Marion Lozano, Dan Powell and Dianne Wong, and was designed by Chris Wood.
Our theme music was composed by Wonderly's Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk. Special thanks to Susan Lee, Yakub Akbari, Safi Padshah, Kiana Hayeri, and Fahim Abed.
This is "daily". I'm Sabrina Tavernise. See you tomorrow.
FAQs
What happens to women and girls in Afghanistan? ›
Since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021, women have been wholly excluded from public office and the judiciary. Today, Afghanistan's women and girls are required to adhere to a strict dress code and are not permitted to travel more than 75 km without a mahram. They are compelled to stay at home.
What is the book about the little girl and Taliban? ›I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban is an autobiographical book by Malala Yousafzai, co-written with Christina Lamb.
What is the book about women living in Afghanistan? ›My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird: new short-story book celebrates the work of Afghan women.
Why do women have to cover their faces in Afghanistan? ›The Taliban believe that the woman's place is in the home. She should not come out without a close male relative, and if she does come out, she should cover her face,” she told Al Jazeera.
Can Afghan women get divorced? ›'Islam permits divorce'
In Afghanistan nine in 10 women will experience physical, sexual or psychological violence from their partner, according to the UN's mission in the country. Divorce, however, is often more taboo than the abuse itself and the culture remains unforgiving to women who part with their husbands.
The Taliban denied women and girls their right to education during their initial rule in the country between 1996 and 2001 and after seizing power for a second time in 2021, girls beyond puberty were again denied their right to education. Both times, the ban on girls' education was introduced as a temporary measure.
Who is the real woman behind the Afghan girl? ›Afghan Girl is a 1984 photographic portrait of Sharbat Gula, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan during the Soviet–Afghan War. The photograph, taken by American photojournalist Steve McCurry near the Pakistani city of Peshawar, famously appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic.
Why did the Taliban not want girls to learn? ›Since the Taliban's rise to power in 2021, one of their first acts was implementing a strict interpretation of Islamic law. This included the prohibition of girls from attending school and university, as the group believed that education was not necessary nor appropriate for women.
Why did the Taliban ban girls from school? ›Other reasons he gave for the university ban were women's failure to observe a dress code and the study of certain subjects and courses. “We told girls to have proper hijab but they didn't and they wore dresses like they are going to a wedding ceremony,” he said.
Do women in Afghanistan have to cover themselves? ›“Those women who are not too old or young must cover their face, except the eyes.” The all-enveloping burqa, traditional in Afghanistan, allows women to see only through a small grille. The alternative would be the niqab, which covers the face but not the eyes.
What is the book about the little girl in Afghanistan? ›
The first novel in the trilogy, The Breadwinner, was published in 2000. It is about an 11 year old girl called Parvana, who is forced by circumstances to be the breadwinner for her family in the war-torn Taliban-era of Kabul, in Afghanistan.
What is the tradition of Afghan girls who live as boys? ›In Afghanistan, it is common cultural practice for girls to dress as boys, this is known as "bacha posh." Families who don't have sons often choose daughters to take on the roles of sons so that they can behave more freely.
What happens if a woman doesn t wear a hijab in Afghanistan? ›“If a woman is caught without a hijab, her mahram (a male guardian) will be warned. The second time, the guardian will be summoned [by Taliban officials], and after repeated summons, her guardian will be imprisoned for three days,” according to the statement.
Can women wear jeans in Afghanistan? ›Most Afghans are Muslim and virtually all Afghan women wear a head covering based on the local interpretation of religious laws. Most women wear a hijab or chador as a covering. Some wear a chadari, better known in the West as burqa. In a few places like Kabul, Western dresses like jeans are often worn.
Do women in Afghanistan have to have a male guardian? ›Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban have curtailed women's rights. Women cannot travel without a male guardian and have few work options.
What age can a girl marry in Afghanistan? ›According to Article 70 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Afghanistan 1977 and Article 99(1) of the Shiite Personal Status Law, the legal marriageable age is 16 for girls and 18 for boys. When a girl is below the age of 16, a marriage can be concluded with the permission of her father or a judge.
How many wives can a man have in Afghanistan? ›The Republic of Afghanistan, which is an Islamic Republic under Sharia Law, allows for polygyny. Afghan men may take up to four wives, as Islam allows for such. A man must treat all of his wives equally; however, it has been reported that these regulations are rarely followed.
What is the average age that a woman girl gets married in Afghanistan? ›In Afghanistan, up to 57% of girls are married before they are 19. The most common ages for girls to get married are 15 and 16. Factors such as gender dynamics, family structure, cultural, political, and economic perceptions/ideologies all play a role in determining if a girl is married at a young age.
Why can t girls in Afghanistan go to school? ›Since the Taliban's takeover in 2021, only girls aged 12 and under have been allowed to go to school. Afghanistan's schools have reopened for the new academic year, but hundreds of thousands of teenage girls remain barred from attending classes as Taliban authorities ban their attendance in secondary school.
How many girls are not allowed to go to school in Afghanistan? ›Currently, 80% of school-aged Afghan girls and young women – 2.5 million people are out of school. Nearly 30% of girls in Afghanistan have never entered primary education.
What religion does the Taliban follow? ›
The Taliban follow an ultraconservative Sunni interpretation of Islam. Yet approximately 10 to 15 percent of Afghans are Shia, and there are a significant number of Sufi, small numbers of Ahmadis, and some Hindus and Sikhs in urban areas.
Why is Afghan Girl so famous? ›Gula gained international fame in 1984 as an Afghan refugee girl, after war photographer Steve McCurry's photograph of her, with piercing green eyes, was published on the cover of National Geographic.
Where is the famous Afghan Girl now? ›She has now sought refuge in Rome. WHERE WAS SHE BEFORE BEING EVACUATED? Sharbat Gula lived life peacefully and anonymously in Pakistan for over 30 years after fleeing Afghanistan in the 80s.
Why was Afghan Girl so popular? ›After time spent embedded with the mujahideen battling the Soviets, McCurry shared some of the first images of the Afghan conflict with the world, with Gula's image humanizing the conflict and later becoming synonymous with his career as an award-winning war photographer.
Which country banned girls education? ›Today, our thoughts are with the women and girls of Afghanistan in particular, as it is the only country in the world that prohibits education beyond primary level for women and girls.
What does Sharia law mean for women's rights? ›Sharia established that women have legal and financial rights, as well as the right to inherit. However, the Koran specifies that a sister inherits half of her brother's amount.
Why are Afghan girls denied education? ›“The underlying reasons for low girls' enrolment are insecurity and traditional norms and practices related to girls' and women's role in the society,” UNICEF says in its report. “Other reasons can be explained in part by a lack of female teachers, especially in rural schools.
What do the Taliban want? ›The basic thing is that they want power. They've been fighting for power and if they can get it through talks, why not.”
What does the Quran say about female education? ›But the Quran commands all Muslims, regardless of gender, to read, think, contemplate, and pursue knowledge, and the Prophet Muhammad encouraged education as a religious duty for both males and females, explains Dr Haifaa Jawad in her book, The Rights of Women in Islam: An Authentic Approach.
Can women walk alone in Afghanistan? ›Technically Afghan women are not allowed to travel more than 110 kilometres unless accompanied by a maharam, or male guardian, typically her husband, father, or brother.
Do Afghan women have to cover their hair? ›
Many wear a loose scarf or type of hijab that covers their hair. Consider that many Muslim Afghan women choose not to wear any head covering. Attitudes and choices vary depending on the individual.
What is the punishment for not wearing a burqa? ›If He exacts vengeance on those who disobey Him, then utter destruction will be their fate. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Such is the Seizure of your Lord when He seizes the (population of) towns while they are doing wrong. Verily, His Seizure is painful (and) severe.
What is the underground girls of Kabul about? ›An investigative journalist uncovers a hidden custom in Afghanistan that will transform your understanding of what it means to grow up as a girl. In Afghanistan, a culture ruled almost entirely by men, the birth of a son is cause for celebration and the arrival of a daughter is often mourned as misfortune.
Who shot the famous image of the Afghan Girl? ›She was 12 years old when National Geographic photojournalist Steve McCurry photographed her. Her face came to be known as the “Afghan Girl.”
What is the book about Afghan Girl pretending to be a boy? ›The Underground Girls of Kabul: The Hidden Lives of Afghan Girls Disguised as Boys by Jenny Nordberg (2015-05-07): Amazon.com: Books.
What happens to child brides in Afghanistan? ›Girls who marry before they turn 18 are less likely to remain in school and more likely to experience domestic violence, discrimination, abuse and poor mental health. They are also more vulnerable to complications in pregnancy and childbirth.
What does virginity mean in Afghan culture? ›A woman's virginity remains a highly prized possession, seen as a symbol of modesty and purity. Women believed to have had premarital sex face public shame, prison, or may even become victims of so-called honour killings.
What is considered rude in Afghan culture? ›The thumbs-up gesture is considered rude and has the same connotation as raising one's middle finger for traditional Afghans. The “OK” sign with the hand can symbolize the evil eye or something more lewd. Stroking one's beard or pounding a fist into one's hand may signify revenge.
Can you see out of a burqa? ›The term burqa is sometimes conflated with the niqāb even though, in more precise usage, the niqab is a face veil that leaves the eyes uncovered, while a burqa covers the entire body from the top of the head to the ground, with a mesh screen which only allows the wearer to see in front of her.
How does it feel to wear a burqa? ›One participant said she felt protected and safe, and another mentioned that she had worn a garment that covered much of her body while in Morocco and that she appreciated the anonymity it provided her as a Western woman. One of my students who tried it on said she felt mysterious and powerful, like a ninja.
Can you force a woman to wear hijab? ›
The same applies to all members of the family; each of them must help his brother or his sister to obey Allah. If the daughter refuses to wear hijab, then she should be forced to wear it; it is not permissible to be lenient towards her in that regard.
How do Afghans treat dinner guests? ›Afghans always treat guests with respect and offer the best food they can provide. Meals for guests often include four or five main dishes served with rice.
Can men wear shorts in Afghanistan? ›Men are expected to dress modestly and should remain sensitive to Islamic culture. This includes not wearing clothing items such as sleeveless shirts or shorts.
Can women in Afghanistan wear makeup? ›Taliban: No heels, no fancy colors, no perfume and no makeup for Afghan women. Afghan Women are strictly banned from wearing heels, perfume, attractive colors and makeup. A Taliban leader said in an interview that all of this is against Islam and those who do this are bad charactered women.
What are Afghan women not allowed to do? ›Since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021, women have been wholly excluded from public office and the judiciary. Today, Afghanistan's women and girls are required to adhere to a strict dress code and are not permitted to travel more than 75 km without a mahram. They are compelled to stay at home.
Are women forced to marry in Afghanistan? ›In 2009, the Afghan government passed the Elimination of Violence Against Women Law (EVAW), which lists 22 crimes, including forced marriage and rape. In addition, according to Afghan civil law, as well as Islamic law, consent is required for marriage.
Can Afghan women see a male doctor? ›#CATCH22 fast leading to a human catastrophy -#Afghanistan, under sharia law, bans women from visiting male doctors.
What were the punishments for women in Afghanistan? ›A woman could be flogged for showing an inch or two of skin under her full-body burqa, beaten for attempting to study, stoned to death if she was found guilty of adultery. Rape and violence against women and girls was rife. Afghan women were brutalised in the law and in nearly every aspect of their daily life.
What are the gender roles in Afghanistan? ›Gender roles are highly patriarchal and rigidly defined in Afghan culture. The men are viewed as the main income earners, while women are seen as the homemakers. Husbands are expected to provide economically for their wives and children throughout their lives.
Can women be deployed in Afghanistan? ›Women were still banned from direct assignment to ground combat units. However, these female soldiers were deployed to access Afghan women and their households in the so-called "battle for hearts and minds" during the Afghanistan war, which began on Oct.
Can females go to school in Afghanistan? ›
Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are prohibited from going to secondary school. Women have also been effectively squeezed out of public life, removed from most government jobs or paid a fraction of their former salaries to stay at home.
What are Afghan women banned from? ›In other restrictions placed on Afghan women since 2021, teenage girls have been barred from secondary school, women have been pushed out of many government jobs, prevented from travelling without a male relative and ordered to cover up outside the home, ideally with a burqa.
What is the punishment for adultery in Afghanistan? ›Article 427 of the Penal Code makes sexual intercourse outside the marriage (zina) or adultery punishable by long term imprisonment.
Can men have multiple wives in Afghanistan? ›The Republic of Afghanistan, which is an Islamic Republic under Sharia Law, allows for polygyny. Afghan men may take up to four wives, as Islam allows for such. A man must treat all of his wives equally; however, it has been reported that these regulations are rarely followed.
What can we do to help Afghanistan girls? ›- Be an advocate for refugees in your community. ...
- Write to your local government representative about your concerns for the rights of Afghan girls and women. ...
- Donate to organisations who are supporting girls and women during this crisis.
Other notable Afghan women include Naghma, Aryana Sayeed, Seeta Qasemi, Yalda Hakim, Roya Mahboob, Aziza Siddiqui, Mary Akrami, Suraya Pakzad, Wazhma Frogh, Shukria Asil, Shafiqa Quraishi, Maria Bashir, Maryam Durani, Malalai Bahaduri, and Nasrin Oryakhil.
Can women leave the house without a man in Afghanistan? ›Instead a man is deemed responsible for their presence in public, including how they dress and where they travel. Officially, any woman travelling more than 75km (46 miles) or leaving the country needs a mahram. If a woman is found to have broken the Taliban's dress codes, their male relatives face punishment.
Why does the Taliban not allow girls to go to school? ›Since the Taliban's rise to power in 2021, one of their first acts was implementing a strict interpretation of Islamic law. This included the prohibition of girls from attending school and university, as the group believed that education was not necessary nor appropriate for women.
What is going on in Afghanistan 2023? ›Afghanistan in 2023 will be shaped by whether or not the Taliban's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, retains his tight grip on all decisionmaking. The second crucial dynamic will be terrorism and militancy. The Taliban is unlikely to get a better handle on the Islamic State in Khorasan (ISK).
What type of food do they eat in Afghanistan? ›Afghans eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Common fruits include dates, melons and other dried fruits. Common vegetables include eggplant, spinach, potato, carrot, peas, onion, legumes, tomato, cucumber and lettuce. Fresh mint and coriander are also very common.