Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Taliban Can’t See Women Nurture

Women are the most deprived section of Afghan society. Throughout the history of Afghanistan, women have been subjected to violence of various forms – sexual abuse, rape, physical and mental punishment and now being used in launching terror attacks. Violence has caused women commit acts such suicide and self-immolation.

The Taliban era was the darkest for women as they were prisoners in their own homes and were not allowed to get education or be engaged in other activities of a social life. Although ten years have passed after the defeat of Taliban and women participation in all fields of life has significantly increased, life for majority of women population has not altered much.

Taliban still continues to practice violence and its rules apply to all areas under its control and influence. In addition a big portion of Afghan population has resembling mentality as Taliban which has resulted in the plight of Afghan women to remain at large.

Taliban can not bear Afghan women develop and adopt a democratic life by taking equal part as men in social, political and economic spheres. By continuing to threat and target active women, insurgents are trying suppress the rights of women.

Yesterday, a woman who worked for the Afghan government in the turbulent Kandahar city was gunned down outside of her home early Tuesday. Rabia Sadat was getting into a car to go to her office in Kandahar city in the morning when a man drove up on a motorcycle and shot her twice and the vehicle driver once, her father, Sayed Hussein Sadat has told AP.

This is not the first incident where the insurgents are targeting a woman. Such incidents – that have taken life of women working as civil servant, politician, journalist or simply as teacher - have occurred several time in the past and will keep occurring in the future too as the security situation has getting horrific with the passage of each year.

As the international community is withdrawing from Afghanistan and the government is offering table talks to Taliban, worries about gains that the Afghan women have had in the last decade multiplies among human rights and other organizations working for the rights of women. Incidents such as that of yesterday signals that Taliban is still opposing the basic rights of women and is not ready to see women working, getting education or be engaged in any other activities of social and political life.