In Afghanistan, as almost everywhere in the world, a person’s family is the most important part of his or her identity in society, and a family’s honor is a key factor in how other families evaluate its social standing. Women’s rights and fairness, which are components of human rights, are supported by Islamic law and philosophy, which has its goals in the realization of justice, fairness, and dignity for all people. Afghan legal documents likewise supports gender equality and fairness, as seen by the 1964 Constitution.
In a general view of the situation of women in Afghanistan, in the first step, I consider it necessary to have a comparative view in order to clarify the situation of women before and after the Islamic Emirate. Has imposed a history on the women of Afghanistan. Also, at the macro level, there are three basic questions in the discussion of the current of feminism; During the reign of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan (r. 1880–1901), a women’s rights movement arose in Afghanistan.
First: Why did women get into this situation?
Secondly: How did she become isolated?
Thirdly: What were the consequences for women?
These are the three basic questions of the current of feminism, the answer to which can be found in three waves, which here is not an opportunity to examine the waves of formation of the current of feminism, and it must be said that its head is the beliefs of men and beliefs that It has historically perpetrated oppression and discrimination against women, but so has it in Afghanistan. In ancient times, the view was that women who could not go hunting and could not provide alimony, and then the thesis of practical work and work outside the home was pushed out and forced to go home and spend time working around the house arena.
Tribal laws and punishments have frequently taken precedent over Islamic and constitutional laws in determining gender roles, particularly in rural areas where family hierarchies exist. Women’s positions and rights have been jeopardized by tribal power maneuvers, honor structures, and inter-tribe displays of patriarchal control. Hence, making men’s historical views spread to everyone.
In Afghanistan values and culture are subject to belief and religion, and it depends on the religious practices whether religion is tolerant or not.
Afghan women today
Women’s rights were significantly improving in Afghanistan over some years when relatively few national and international institutions and authorities were active in defending and protecting women’s rights. Women were present in government offices, political jobs, social activities, and there were the largest conferences and programs for women. Women were allowed to talk freely because their presence in administrative positions and women voters in elections.
However, while these advantages and possibilities were available to women in Kabul, women and girls in Afghanistan’s countryside remained primarily trapped in religious practices with little news of political and civic activity rights. There was no work, even to the point where their basic human rights were unknown, and for the past two decades, the space for Afghan women and girls has been generally open, with opportunities for growth and education, yet all these efforts to attain rights were gone and dreams became unachievable with the arrival of the current regime which is conservative.
Women’s faces have been barred from all forms of media, including advertisements and television; schools for girls have been closed; and women are not allowed to leave their houses without a male companion.
According to a 2019 poll performed by UN Women and Promundo and summarized by Reuters, only 15% of Afghan males feel women should be permitted to work after marriage, and two-thirds worry that Afghan women have “too many rights.”
There appears to be little hope that conditions will improve in the near future, given the Taliban’s failure to follow through on their first promises regarding women’s rights. The only way out is to persuade the rest of the world of the magnitude of the situation and apply diplomatic pressure on the Taliban to fulfill their promises.
HUMAN ADVISOR PROJECT 