Women in Taliban Face New Transportation Nightmare: Burqas!

No longer does Fereydun, a motorized rickshaw driver from Herat in western Afghanistan, carry women. According to Fereydun, if he were to transport women who weren’t fully clothed, the Taliban would beat him up and take his rickshaw away.

He has already had to witness the treatment of women. He has been stopped by the Taliban several times, who have each time pulled non-burqa-wearing women from the car before cursing and screaming at them. Fereydun claimed he too had received punishment.

Strikes against women’s rights

Women in Afghanistan are still defying orders almost two years after the militant Islamist Taliban seized power as NATO tragically withdrew.

Many people continue to walk the streets with their faces exposed because they refuse to wear burqas. According to the decree issued in May 2022, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered women to completely cover their faces in public “as this is traditional and respectful.”

The Taliban promised to uphold women’s rights when they took office in August 2021. Since that time, women are no longer permitted to work in the majority of professions and cannot enroll in higher education institutions. Beauty salons were recently outlawed. Pressure is growing for women who still dare to expose their faces.

According to eyewitnesses in Afghanistan, morality police are deployed throughout major cities by the Taliban Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. The ministry has ordered, among other things, that drivers of taxis, rickshaws, and other passenger vehicles can no longer transport women outside of cities who are not covered by a hijab.

Akif Mohajer, a Ministry of Vice and Virtue representative, told the media that women must always travel with a man. They must wear a full hijab and no man is allowed to sit next to them when they travel within the city. No matter if they are wearing a chador, their hijab must be completely Islamic.

The definition of a “full Islamic hijab” does not appear to be precise. A woman from Herat named Dina claimed that she had endured numerous removals from rickshaws and insults as a result of choosing to don a long coat and headscarf rather than a complete body covering.

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This was also confirmed by Mirza, a Kabul taxi driver, in an interview with DW. He had received repeated warnings from the Taliban not to allow women to drive cabs without wearing burqas or veils or he would face punishment and have his cab seized.

Taliban is distancing women from public places

According to Maryam Marof Arwin, founder of a welfare organization for women and children in Afghanistan, the main objective of these measures is to remove women from the public eye.

With the recent restrictions, the Taliban have demonstrated that they are continuing the policies they put in place during their first term in power, she said, except that they are now deliberately and systematically eradicating women from society.

The Taliban were notorious for treating women poorly during their initial rule, which lasted from 1996 to 2001. Many diseases went untreated back then because women were prohibited from seeing male doctors, required to wear the burqa in public, and were unable to leave the house without a male escort. The Taliban are attempting to go back in time right now, experts warn, without considering the repercussions.

The Taliban had previously declared that female medical students would not be permitted to take their final exams. In December 2022, they had already made it illegal for women to enroll in universities. 

Women in Afghanistan emphasize in every conversation that the world shouldn’t watch helplessly. They require the assistance and unity of the global community. So does Dina from Herat.

Before you leave, you should watch the flashback to when the Taliban entered and the abuse of women’s rights began.

One of the most important human rights issues in Afghanistan right now is how the Taliban treats women. Women’s rights have been subject to several restrictions ever since the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, including.

• Women are prohibited from working in the majority of government and private sector jobs; 

• Women are required to cover their faces in public; 

• Girls are not allowed to continue their education past the sixth grade; 

• Women are not allowed to travel without a male guardian.

These limitations have drastically impacted the lives of women. Numerous women have been forced to stay at home, drop out of school, and lose their jobs. Women have a harder time getting access to healthcare, education, and other crucial services due to the Taliban’s policies.

The way the Taliban treats women is against both international law and human rights norms. The Taliban have been urged by the UN to respect women’s rights and give them full access to all facets of society. The Taliban, however, hasn’t demonstrated much inclination to do so thus far.

The future is uncertain and the situation for women in Afghanistan is dire. Nevertheless, several organizations in Afghanistan are fighting for women’s rights.