- 24 Mar 2022 09:14
#15219145
The Taliban has renegaded on a promise that women would be allowed to go to college.
Right after the United States abandoned Afghanistan and let the Taliban take over again, it was promised that women would be allowed to go to gender-segregated schools.
Now the Taliban has announced that women will no longer be allowed to go to college.
Taliban bars Afghan girls from attending school beyond 6th grade : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/23/10882027 ... rls-school
Not only that but the Taliban has also closed all women's high schools, saying that they will remain closed until the government comes up with a plan to operate them according to Islamic law.
Taliban orders girls' high schools to remain closed, leaving students in tears | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 022-03-23/
Let's remember that 21 years ago, in 2001, the United States (along with several allies) invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power.
News media at the time was celebrating that this would be a huge victory for women's rights and people around the world (well, at least outside of the Muslim World) were shocked at what women there had had to put up with.
But then in late 2021, after a peace agreement had been negotiated with the Taliban to try to bring the conflict to a permanent close and finally bring stability to the country, the Taliban went on the offensive again, and the United States, under the leadership of Biden, decided to abandon the country and allow the Taliban to take over again.
This is not looking like a good day for women's rights.
The United States came to the rescue before and women had 20 years of Western-style rights, but now that is over.
Here's a little history of women's rights in Afghanistan.
In 1921 the first school for girls was opened in the capital city.
In 1924 a law was passed allowing women to choose their own husbands.
In 1959 women no longer had to wear a veil.
In 1964 the Afghanistan government starts to come under international pressure to modernize their government and society.
In 1978 women get even more rights, the government is overthrown a year later by a Soviet-backed Communist Party.
In 1981 Afghanistan became a pawn between Soviet Russia and the United States.
In 1983 Islamic extremists from all different parts of the Muslim World were drawn to Afghanistan to take part in what they saw as a religious war for independence against the Soviets who were trying to suppress religion.
In 1996 the Taliban took power over the country.
In 2001 the United States invaded and removed the Taliban from government.
In 2009 under a new democratically elected government, the controversial Islamic-inspired Shia Personal Status Law was passed, which standardized family relations laws for Shia Muslim women in the country. In some ways this law helped give some women more rights, but took away rights from other women. For example, it specified that Shia women were required to submit to their husband's sexual demands and were expected to have intercourse with their husband every four days. Family issues had previously been decided by local customary law, so the law was considered an improvement for many women outside the capital city.
In 2021 the Taliban took power again, and sent public relations representatives promising that women would be able to do many things they were not allowed to do under the previous Taliban rule (from 1996 to 2001).
The Taliban used whips to break up a protest of feminist women.
Many women feared they would have to go back to wearing the burqa (full face covering).
The Taliban announced women will be required to wear the hijab, but so far will not be required to wear the burqa.
Right after the United States abandoned Afghanistan and let the Taliban take over again, it was promised that women would be allowed to go to gender-segregated schools.
Now the Taliban has announced that women will no longer be allowed to go to college.
Taliban bars Afghan girls from attending school beyond 6th grade : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/23/10882027 ... rls-school
Not only that but the Taliban has also closed all women's high schools, saying that they will remain closed until the government comes up with a plan to operate them according to Islamic law.
Taliban orders girls' high schools to remain closed, leaving students in tears | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 022-03-23/
Let's remember that 21 years ago, in 2001, the United States (along with several allies) invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power.
News media at the time was celebrating that this would be a huge victory for women's rights and people around the world (well, at least outside of the Muslim World) were shocked at what women there had had to put up with.
But then in late 2021, after a peace agreement had been negotiated with the Taliban to try to bring the conflict to a permanent close and finally bring stability to the country, the Taliban went on the offensive again, and the United States, under the leadership of Biden, decided to abandon the country and allow the Taliban to take over again.
This is not looking like a good day for women's rights.
The United States came to the rescue before and women had 20 years of Western-style rights, but now that is over.
Here's a little history of women's rights in Afghanistan.
In 1921 the first school for girls was opened in the capital city.
In 1924 a law was passed allowing women to choose their own husbands.
In 1959 women no longer had to wear a veil.
In 1964 the Afghanistan government starts to come under international pressure to modernize their government and society.
In 1978 women get even more rights, the government is overthrown a year later by a Soviet-backed Communist Party.
In 1981 Afghanistan became a pawn between Soviet Russia and the United States.
In 1983 Islamic extremists from all different parts of the Muslim World were drawn to Afghanistan to take part in what they saw as a religious war for independence against the Soviets who were trying to suppress religion.
In 1996 the Taliban took power over the country.
In 2001 the United States invaded and removed the Taliban from government.
In 2009 under a new democratically elected government, the controversial Islamic-inspired Shia Personal Status Law was passed, which standardized family relations laws for Shia Muslim women in the country. In some ways this law helped give some women more rights, but took away rights from other women. For example, it specified that Shia women were required to submit to their husband's sexual demands and were expected to have intercourse with their husband every four days. Family issues had previously been decided by local customary law, so the law was considered an improvement for many women outside the capital city.
In 2021 the Taliban took power again, and sent public relations representatives promising that women would be able to do many things they were not allowed to do under the previous Taliban rule (from 1996 to 2001).
The Taliban used whips to break up a protest of feminist women.
Many women feared they would have to go back to wearing the burqa (full face covering).
The Taliban announced women will be required to wear the hijab, but so far will not be required to wear the burqa.