August 15th, 2022 marked the one-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power over Kabul, and effectively all of Afghanistan. Since then, Afghan women have seen widespread violations of their rights to education, work, and free movement. This overt oppression of women is a direct consequence of the Taliban reversing actions taken by the previous U.S.-backed government as they redefine Afghanistan’s identity under their rule. 

The United States finished removing its troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, after two decades of military operations that failed to eradicate Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, or democratize Afghanistan. Immediately following the September 11th, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, the focus was on the former, but after the Taliban government initially collapsed in December 2001, the United States expanded its scope to include the latter. 

These promises of democratization were directly connected to expanding women’s rights. As former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell stated in November 2001, “the recovery of Afghanistan must entail a restoration of the rights of Afghan women… it will not be possible without them.”

Similarly, in President George W. Bush’s Address to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2002, he spoke of a “democratic Afghanistan” that could lead by example to show “that honest government, and respect for women… can triumph in the Middle East and beyond.” 

In the following years, women’s rights were considerably expanded in Afghanistan. The constitution, ratified on January 26, 2004, established equal rights for men and women under the law. In the 2004 presidential election, “women comprised over 41% of the 10.5 million registered voters,” according to the U.S. Department of State. And, in the 2005 election, 85 female candidates won seats in Parliament, exceeding the 25% quota. 

Another notable moment occurred in 2009 with the passage of the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) law. For the first time, Afghanistan made “22 acts of abuse toward women criminal offenses, including rape, battery, forced marriage, preventing women from acquiring property, and prohibiting a woman or girl from going to school or work.” EVAW’s enactment in 2009 and reconfirmation by President Ashraf Ghani in 2018 signified a stark departure from the Taliban’s treatment of women from 1996 to 2001. One major concern, however, was the disparity between how women in urban versus rural areas of Afghanistan were able to use EVAW to seek justice for crimes committed against them. There remains a significant gap in the protection and strength of women’s rights depending on geographical location or economic status. Nonetheless, EVAW’s passage was a landmark moment in the effort to protect women’s autonomy and should be praised for its role in promoting subsequent legislation.

Further hope came from statistics revealing that “female enrollment in secondary education grew from six percent in 2003 to 39 percent in 2017,” and “women’s life expectancy grew from 56 years in 2001 to 66 in 2017,” according to the World Bank. 

Overall, women’s access to education, healthcare, voting, and employment increased significantly after 2001.

Despite the progress made to aid and protect Afghan women, though, the United States was unable to succeed in its primary mission of eliminating Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces within Afghanistan. After two decades in which over two thousand U.S. soldiers died and roughly $2 trillion was spent, the rationale for staying in Afghanistan was weakening. 

In February 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed the US-Taliban deal, which included the conditional removal of all U.S. military forces from Afghanistan. The following year, the Biden Administration saw through the final removal of all U.S. troops in August 2021. 

The swift return to power that the Taliban executed, however, sparked widespread shock and concern, particularly among women’s rights supporters. A major concern was how removing troops from Afghanistan would also remove critical international attention, advocacy, and support to protect women’s freedoms.

Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, addressed this fear that filled international conversations surrounding their claim to power. In his first public remarks on August 17, 2021, he said “the Islamic Emirate is committed to the rights of women within the framework of Sharia.” Adding, “the international community, if they have concerns, we would like to assure them that there’s not going to be any discrimination against women.” Mujahid specifically mentioned international fears because the Taliban knew that the world was watching them closely, and with deep suspicions. Considering the Taliban’s record prior to 2001 regarding women’s rights, there was sufficient reason to be alarmed at what this new regime would mean for women’s equality.

Humanitarian groups such as UN Women immediately began documenting changes to the treatment of women, issuing their first Gender Alert in December 2021. In the report, Afghan women spoke of new requirements by the Taliban for women to be accompanied by a male relative in public, restrictions on women’s clothing, barriers to employment, and violence inflicted upon women who protest against the Taliban’s rules. It also highlighted a set of restrictions on the Afghan media, enacted in November 2021, that banned television shows with female actors and forced women newscasters to wear Islamic hijabs. This came in between separate statements made by the Taliban which claimed to have been actively improving women’s rights and equality.

Since the UN Women’s report was published, the situation has only gotten worse. 

According to NPR, since the Taliban assumed control, they have prohibited women from working and girls from continuing their schooling past sixth grade, enforced a strict dress code where women are expected to be covered from head to toe with only an opening for their eyes, arrested women for violating the morality code, and allowed the abduction and forced marriage of young girls. Human Rights Watch found that the Taliban has enforced these harsh restrictions, similar to those from the 1990s, through intimidation and inspections. 

Filmmaker Ramita Navai told NPR that “Afghanistan is one of the few countries where rates of suicides among women were higher than men,” and since the Taliban took over, suicides across the country have risen sharply. The reason for this, according to Navai is that “life for a lot of women in very rural areas hasn’t changed that much since the Taliban came to power… what has changed is the loss of hope.” 

Human Rights Watch reaffirmed these findings, referring to interviews conducted in the Ghazni province where women expressed “fear, anxiety, hopelessness, and a deep sense of loss and helplessness.”

Faith in the judicial system or foreign intervention has disappeared amongst women who once relied on these institutions as pillars of hope. Although women’s rights never saw significant progress in rural areas like that in major cities and urban areas, there was the distant knowledge that fellow Afghan women were working towards helping those outside of Kabul or Herat. Now, the Taliban has seemingly crushed that hope as even urban, affluent Afghan women face unlawful violations of their rights.

After one year under the Taliban, there is a dire need to propose and enact new solutions that protect women’s rights in Afghanistan. The physical, mental, and emotional harm that has been inflicted upon millions of women is extremely distressing and must be stopped. While sending in troops has proven to be unsuccessful at establishing lasting reform, there are peaceful alternatives that may succeed in doing this.

First, through international pressure, talks, and agreements there must be a signed commitment by the Taliban to cease all restrictions on the free movement of women in society so that they may dress as they please, work freely, attend school, access healthcare, participate in government, and enjoy their basic human rights as equal citizens of Afghanistan. Even though the enforcement of this agreement may be extremely difficult, as seen with the 2009 EVAW law in rural areas, its very existence provides a crucial foundation and sets a precedent to build off of. 

Second, the re-establishment of quotas for women’s participation in government, and the development of an independent women’s rights monitoring mechanism would both serve to legitimize and expand female representation and protection in the government and in society. The quota would reinforce the need for women to have access to education so that they are fit to hold government positions, and would also provide vital representation when deliberating on legislation. Having women’s voices present while governing Afghanistan will help solidify their place as equal members of society. The independent agency would be able to conduct investigations and hold accountable those who violate women’s freedoms. The enforcement of women’s rights according to the law will reinforce their legitimacy, and promote a system that abides by these laws over the long run.

Although the last year under the Taliban has seen immense backsliding on women’s rights, looking back to the progress that was made from 2001 to 2021 there is hope that Afghanistan can once again take steps to promote and protect equality. These proposed solutions offer peaceful and long-term options that could have a significant influence if they are genuinely enforced and followed. Importantly, though, local actors like the people of Afghanistan must be the ones to lead these efforts. As the anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover has proven, no foreign entity can force substantial and durable peace and equality for women without local commitment.