From Taliban's Political Violence to Domestic Violence Against Women:

Women in different countries around the world are heading towards celebrating and honoring March 8, International Women's Day, while for over three years, the Taliban, through their inhumane decrees, have stripped the basic and human rights of more than twenty million women and girls in Afghanistan, chaining their individual freedoms.

On the occasion of this day, women and girls deprived of their rights in Afghanistan say that not only have the Taliban deprived them of basic rights such as education, employment, and even their choice of clothing, but these decrees have also had a direct impact on family policies, to the extent that many women and girls have been rejected by their families due to these prohibitions and the Taliban's harsh orders.

Mah Sheren, a 17-year-old victim of forced marriage and a survivor of education, whose face reflects the bitterness and failure of life.

While weaving carpets in a corner of Herat city, she says that due to the closure of school doors and being confined at home while suffering from depression and mental illness, her family, without consulting her, married her off to an elderly man with a 20-year age difference.

Mah Sheren describes the bitter and difficult life she has lived, and her failure in married life, in this way: "I studied until the seventh grade when the Taliban closed the school gates. I went home, and every day started with me crying. My situation was very bad. About eight months passed since then when I heard my mother saying, Get ready, people are coming for your engagement party. I said, Me? Has someone come to our house for a proposal to hold a gathering? She said, My daughter, your father has given you to a husband."

As she weaves the colorful threads of the carpet, with eyes full of tears, she speaks more about her dark and unfortunate life: "Although I was not happy with this marriage, my father and mother forced me to marry. One year after my wedding, the hardships caused my husband to divorce me. I currently have a child, and I can't even earn enough money for his milk powder. I am confused whether to work to feed myself or buy milk powder for my child."

Kobra Hashemi, another 21-year-old girl, whose family forced her into marriage due to the closure of educational and work opportunities for women, speaks with a trembling, tearful voice about her situation: "Since the doors of education and learning were closed to girls, it is not only the world that has abandoned us, and it is not just the Taliban who oppresses us, but our own parents are also wronging us. They forced me to marry. They say it's better to marry and build your life than to stay at home and fall into depression."

Hashemi continues her speech and says with a sarcastic tone: "Isn't it interesting, the Taliban consider themselves more Muslim than the Muslims of the world, yet because I am a girl, I am not even allowed to make decisions for my own future, to decide with whom I will live under one roof for the coming years. You know what the problem is? It’s that my parents seem to be like the Taliban, because they live under the shadow of their power."

Alongside the wave of Taliban political restrictions and violence against women, domestic violence has become a serious concern for women and girls in Afghanistan. Despite more than three years under Taliban rule, this violence has increased.

Women's rights activists say that while the Taliban, with their inhumane decrees, are attempting to use women as a tool to gain international recognition and secure billions of dollars in aid from global countries, many families in Afghanistan are influenced by these decrees and are resorting to violence against women.

Najla Farid, a women's rights activist, says in an interview with Zan TV: "The Taliban are attempting to exploit Afghan women for political gain. Every time the world’s countries decide to discuss Afghanistan, the Taliban issue a new decree to let the world know that if they are not recognized, their decrees will only increase. Now, the Taliban remain in power, and many parents have become like the Taliban in these three years, forcing their daughters into marriage, beating them, and treating them with violence."

On the other hand, women's rights and human rights activists, on the occasion of March 8, are calling on international human rights organizations to pay attention to the situation of women under the shadow of the Taliban.

Frishta Sakha, another women's rights activist, says: "Our demand is that the world and human rights organizations open their eyes to the women of Afghanistan and see the conditions that women and girls are facing. Our demand is to free women from the Taliban's restrictions."
This comes at a time when many human rights organizations and countries around the world have described the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban's rule as dire and concerning. However, no action has yet been taken by these organizations to free women and girls from the harsh restrictions imposed by the Taliban.