Four years after Taliban fighters took over the Kabul capital on August 15, 2021, gender equality agency United Nations warns that the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan is more and more untenable.
And without urgent action, this untenable reality will become standardized and women and girls will be fully excluded.
“” The Taliban is closer than ever to achieve their vision of a society that completely erases women in public life“Said UN women in a press release Monday.
A company that is against them
The edicts that the Taliban have adopted restricting the rights of women and girls interact together to create an essential cycle that relegates women to private spaces and increases their vulnerability.
In most cases, including for humanitarian workers, women are not allowed to move freely in public without being accompanied by a mahramOr a male tutor. The Taliban also banned women and girls in secondary and higher education.
Together, these two edicts have deep ramifications at all levels of society. From now on, not only is it functionally impossible for women to receive educational diplomas, but it is also unduly difficult for them to obtain a job and to conclude training programs.
Therefore, More than 78% of Afghan women are not in education, employment or training.
This means that almost half of the workforce does not contribute to the economy in a measurable manner, a huge problem for a country whose economy has been devastated by sanctions and climatic shocks.
An unhealthy cycle
But it is not only the suffering economy. In some cases, these edicts can literally be a question of life or death.
“The results are devastating. Women live a shorter and less healthy life“Said the United Nations Agency.
Take health care for example. If women are not allowed to enter higher education, they cannot become doctors. And if women are prohibited from receiving treatments from male doctors – that they are in certain regions – they cannot expect to live a healthy life.
UN women believe that obstacles to the reception of health care for women in Afghanistan will increase maternal mortality by 50% by 2026.
Children’s marriage also becomes more common and women are increasingly subject to violence, inside and outside their homes.
Solidarity in Afghanistan
It is not only in public that women ‘voices are excluded – 62% of women believe that they cannot even influence decisions at home.
UN women point out that despite the hopeful hope, Afghan women remain resilient. They continue to seek moments of solidarity and to hope for a different future.
A woman whose basic leadership organization has lost all of its funding in 2022 continuous Work to support women in smaller ways.
“I will continue to stay strong as a woman, supporting other Afghan women. I go to remote areas and collect [women’s] Stories, listen to their problems and that gives them hope. I do my best and it also gives me hope“She said.
A dangerous precedent
In total, since 2021, nearly 100 edicts that restrict how women and girls move in society have been instituted and applied. In four years, not a single one has been overthrown.
Susan Ferguson, UN women representative In Afghanistan, said that this lack of progress must be understood beyond the Afghan context.
“It is not only a question of rights – and the future – of Afghan women and girls. This is what we represent a global community, “said Ferguson.
“” If we allow Afghan women and girls to be reduced to silence, we send a message that the rights of women and girls everywhere are disposable. And it is an extremely dangerous precedent. »»
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
