The Taliban's Decrees in 2024 on the Lives and Rights of Women

The Direct Impact of the Taliban's Decrees on Women and Girls

Since seizing power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban, through the issuance of numerous decrees and orders, have not only made life bitter for millions of women and girls but have also deprived them of their fundamental, human, and legal rights. According to a report by the Swedish non-governmental organization "ECAPS" on the Taliban's restrictions, while the group claims that their decrees aim to control social issues, women and girls have been significantly impacted by these laws and directives.

Out of the 16 decrees issued by the Taliban leader up to December 2, 2024, two are related to matters of "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" while the other 14 directly target the rights and lives of women. These include restrictions on education, dress codes, access to work and income, mandatory hijab for female students below grade six, the use of smartphones, and other aspects of their lives.

However, in the final days of 2024, Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, issued three additional restrictive decrees targeting women. These include the prohibition of girls attending private educational centers in Herat, a ban on constructing windows in homes to prevent women from being seen from the neighbors' windows while sitting or standing, and the prohibition of women working in non-governmental organizations. This brings the total number of such decrees in 2024 to 19.

This comes at a time when, with the issuance of the decree banning girls from studying in health institutes, Hedar Bar, the Women's Rights Director at Human Rights Watch, has stated that the Taliban, through this ban, is creating conditions for the death of mothers and infants in Afghanistan. She has said: "This does not only mean the destruction of the dreams of those girls who wanted to study and help their community, but it also means that this will lead to the death of women who cannot access healthcare."

Islamic Hijab or Mandatory Hijab?

Although the Taliban issued a decree on May 7, 2022, stating that women and girls must cover their faces in public and emphasized that failure to comply would result in first a recommendation and then punishment, the Taliban leader did not stop at this decree. On July 23, 2024, he issued another decree making hijab mandatory for female students below grade six in schools and educational centers.

Some of the girls affected by this decree, complaining about the strict laws of the Taliban, are calling for the reopening of school doors and the removal of these restrictions.

Naziah, an 11-year-old girl who is in the fourth grade at one of the schools, says: "It’s been five or six months now that our teachers have told us not to come to class without wearing a prayer shawl, because the government has said we must wear a black shawl so that people don't see us, as it is considered a sin. But I want to be comfortable, and when I come to class, this shawl feels heavy on my head."

Asma, another female student who is learning English at an educational center, says: "We are still children, we are at home without a shawl, and my father doesn't say anything. Why do the Taliban say we must wear a big prayer shawl? Should I focus on my school books, or this big shawl? My request is that I be allowed to come to my course without this shawl, and just in the school clothes I already wear."

The Ban on Girls' Education in Medical Institutes: A Factor Contributing to the Humanitarian Crisis

Following the decree issued by Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, on December 19, 2022, banning girls from studying at public and private universities, the only remaining pathway for education for the girls who had been deprived of their studies in Afghanistan was medical institutes. Thousands of girls across the country, by changing their fields of study, entered 175 medical institutes to pursue their lost hopes. However, on December 13, 2024, the Taliban leader issued another decree, closing the last door to education for girls.

Aisha Faizi, who is in the final semester of midwifery at a medical institute in Kandahar province, says that due to intense anxiety, she has attempted suicide several times.

She says: "I have tried several times to end my life, but God didn't allow it. I'm really tired, and every day I wait to see what the Taliban will say next, so I can obey their decree as a girl. I wanted to become a midwife and serve the people. The women in our village needed a midwife and a doctor, but the Taliban won't let us serve our people."

Fariba, another girl deprived of education who has migrated to Iran due to this ban, says: "I was ready to fight against the Taliban's decrees. I came here to study. The seat of power is always made of wood, and the Taliban must know that these seats are not eternal. Maybe one day the system will change. At least I am showing that I am an Afghan girl, and even though my education is banned, I can beg for education in a neighboring country, but I will not give up on my efforts and will serve my people."

The ban on girls' education in medical institutes has sparked strong reactions, including from Robert Dickson, the British Embassy's chargé d'affaires in Afghanistan, who expressed his deep concern on X, writing: "This is another insult to women's right to continue their education and will further restrict Afghan women and children's access to healthcare."

The Final Nail to the Door of Girls' Education

According to a report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), following the decree issued by Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, banning education for girls above the sixth grade, more than 1.4 million girls across Afghanistan have been deprived of their education since March 22, 2022. However, in the final days of 2024, the leader of the group issued a new decree prohibiting girls from attending educational centers in Herat province.

The officials of the Taliban's Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat province, citing the decree of Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada regarding the ban on education for girls above the sixth grade in educational centers, instructed relevant authorities on December 24, 2024, to prevent girls from attending educational centers in Herat province.

Some girls, who have been deprived of attending private educational centers in this province, have described this action by the Taliban as driving the final nail into the door of girls' education. They say that with this ban, the last ray of hope has been extinguished in their hearts, but the fire of being confined to their homes has once again been ignited for them.

Hiwa, a 22-year-old girl whose face is filled with sadness, speaks with a choked voice full of emotion to Zan TV: "I studied until the third semester at the Faculty of Psychology at Herat University, but with the ban on girls going to university, I sought refuge in an educational center to escape the mental struggles and confinement at home, to learn English and stay away from this situation. But today, they have closed that door on us as well."

Shafiqah Shojahi, another girl who is learning a language at an educational center in Herat, complains about the strict laws of the Taliban. She says, "Although the Taliban had previously forced us to wear black veils, now they have also deprived us of the right to attend private educational centers."

She says, "Believe me, it was very hard for me to accept wearing the veil, but in order to raise my capacity and level of awareness, I agreed. Right now, I don't know what the authorities of the Emirate want to do with us. I don't know what our sin is. I don't know which door to go to now."

The Demand of Women and Girls for the Immediate End of Taliban Restrictions

The women and girls of Afghanistan, who are directly affected by the Taliban's orders, are urging the international community and global organizations to intervene as soon as possible to put an end to this issue.

Frishta Hamidi, a housebound judge from Herat province, said in an interview with Zan TV: "Look at what the Taliban is doing. The world must view the issue of Taliban's orders from a different perspective. This regime has placed Afghan women and girls under its magnifying glass, and they see nothing else. Therefore, human rights organizations and international bodies must defend the rights of women."

Khadija Fazli, another woman who carried a weapon before the Taliban's rise to power and fought to protect her country against this group, says that now her days and nights are spent in fear and trembling.

She urges human rights organizations to save the women of Afghanistan from this situation: "The Taliban has adopted a system of governance that aims solely to control women. They are only trying to dictate what women should or shouldn't do. Perhaps in a few days, the absent leader of the Taliban will say that women and girls should be buried alive. Our request is that human rights organizations defend us and see the condition we are in."

As 2024 comes to a close, women's rights and human rights organizations have described this year as the peak of the Taliban's decrees on the rights and lives of women in Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban continue to impose laws and restrictions with even greater enthusiasm.

Heather Barr, the director of the women's rights division at Human Rights Watch, referring to the grim lives of women and girls under the Taliban's decrees, stated that the group, by continuing its oppressive orders, has made life even more bitter for the women of this country. She added, "It is now evident that the Taliban, with the sense of power and boldness they have gained, are eagerly continuing their path of imposing restrictions on the rights and lives of women."

It is worth mentioning that the Taliban government is approaching its fourth anniversary, yet the strict laws imposed by this group have prevented its recognition by countries around the world.