Women under the Burqa of Taliban’s Sharia Law in Afghanistan

“Burn my embassy documents, my degrees. Do not tell them that your daughter is a student in another country.”

-Tamana Nijrabi, a 27-year-old postgraduate student of computer science at Hyderabad’s Osmania University to her parents living in Afghanistan, in conversation with The Print

Introduction: The Restoration of Taliban’s Rule in Afghanistan

In April 2021, Joe Biden, the President of the United States of America announced that all American forces in Afghanistan would leave the country by 11th September 2021. Following this announcement, the Taliban found an opportunity and began seizing Afghanistan territory before entering Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, by the 15th of August, 2021. Taliban, which literally means ‘students’ in the Pashto language, is an Islamic fundamentalist terror organisation that emerged in Afghanistan after the 1994 Afghan Civil War. The organisation continued to establish its dominance in the country until they were overthrown in 2001 by the United States, under the Presidency of George W. Bush. After the announcement of the new Afghanistan government, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, announced that Sharia law would be in force in the country under their governance. Furthermore, in its first press conference after taking complete control over Afghanistan, Zabihullah Mujahid (a Taliban spokesman) assured the public that women’s rights would be respected ‘within the framework of Islamic law’, adding that women would have the right to education and work. However, no details were provided as to what it will mean in practice. Now the real question arises as to what Sharia law is and how women will be governed under Afghanistan’s new government, i.e., The Taliban, in accordance with the same. This article tries to interpret the position of women under the Taliban’s Sharia law by discussing the historical background of the interpretation and execution of Sharia law by the Taliban.

Sharia Law

The Sharia is primarily derived from the Quran and the Hadiths (statements, actions, and teachings of Prophet Muhammad). It contains the guidelines for spiritual and temporal Muslim conduct in life; in fact, it also means ‘the highway to good life’. According to Sharia, sovereignty is vested in God, requiring the state to act within the limits of the divine law. Furthermore, Sharia comprises various aspects of the law; personal law which includes family, marriage and succession, public law such as criminal law, trade, and commercial law, etc. At present, there are around 50 countries in the world that have accepted some part of Sharia but only 8 countries in the world have a fully Sharia-based criminal and personal law system. A serious concern arises with the Taliban’s enforcement of Sharia law in Afghanistan because it has a history of interpreting Sharia law in the strictest sense with harsh execution methodologies and its adverse effect on Afghanistan women, resorting to occasional misinterpretation. .

Historical Background of Women under Taliban’s Rule in Afghanistan

In November of 1994, when the Taliban took over Afghanistan (defeating the prevailing communist government), they imposed some very questionable rules pertaining to women; their social lives, dressing, educational rights, employment opportunities, access to medical services, etc. Additionally, it is said that the women who did not follow these rules had to face dishonour and torture by the Taliban men. It seems that Taliban men received their education in schools known as Madrassas and were taught that women were a temptation and an unnecessary distraction, degrading women in their eyes, and in turn instigating such violent brutalities against women. Before 1994, Afghanistan was a member of various international treaties which safeguarded human rights and other women’s rights. However, upon the commencement of the Taliban rule, the then Taliban Governor indicated that the Taliban would continue to abide by the treaties only till the extent they did not contradict Islamic law. Such an indication raised some serious concerns and the consequences were as feared. .

Women were restricted to an extreme level under the then Taliban from the year 1994 till 2001, i.e., women were not allowed to go out without a male accompanying them, girls beyond the age of 8 years were not allowed to study in schools, women had to wear burqas covering their whole body, they were completely banned from employment opportunities (later on they were permitted to be employed in very few areas such as the health care sector), there were some restrictions and conditions imposed upon women to seek medical treatments as well, and many such unreasonable and dehumanised rules were widely practised indiscriminately throughout Afghanistan. Any protests or stands against such practices were suppressed with the imposition of brutal and violent consequences against the protestors. The main concern about such atrocities done under the name of Sharia law was the fact that they interpreted Sharia law completely different from the actual text and scriptures, causing controversies among Islamic religious scholars throughout the world. However, the Taliban continued with their practices until the United States took control over Afghanistan in October 2001.

Fast-forwarding to the year 2011, a documentary showed the Taliban’s presence in the Swat Valley region of Pakistan, documenting the Taliban’s adherence to Sharia law during their governance of the place. It is said that the Taliban have interpreted Sharia law as a complex system of moral codes that should govern all aspects of Muslim life. It has also been observed that the Taliban have justified their attempt to ban any source of income that women could potentially receive for their means of survival. Under their regime, girls were prohibited from attending schools and female teachers had been forced to stay home. One of the Taliban’s most infamous cases against females was the shooting of a fifteen-year-old Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai, for speaking in support of education for girls. Since the Taliban had first taken over Afghanistan, there has been clear evidence of them being the root cause for the demise of females receiving education.

However, when the then Afghanistan’s Education Minister, Farooq Wardack had talks with the Taliban in 2011, he revealed that the ban against female education would be lifted and that they have undergone a profound attitudinal, behavioural and cultural change since the 9/11 attacks. In fact, it was also reported that some Afghan Taliban members secretly educated the girls in their families, stating that they never endorsed the concept of banning education for girls. However, such revelations do not indicate the mass members’ beliefs and practices, still leaving room for fear of women oppression.

Contemporary Happenings in Afghanistan under Sharia Law

On observation of the recent happenings in Afghanistan, it can be said the Taliban has interpreted Sharia law in a new manner, different from what it had during its previous rule. On 12th September 2021, Afghanistan’s new High Education Minister, Abdul Baqi Haqqani indicated that women would be allowed to study in schools and universities, but classrooms will be gender-segregated and women would be required to mandatorily wear hijabs. The minister also went on to announce that the subjects being taught would be reviewed. Haqqani also said that the Taliban did not want to turn the clock back 20 years and that they will start building on what exists today. Although this new rule is an improvement from their previous rule 20 years ago, it still indicates the exclusion of women from education due to the lack of facilities to conduct gender-segregated classes. Furthermore, women have been banned from sports and the Taliban have used violence in recent days against female protesters demanding equal rights. In another interview, the Taliban spokesperson Sayed Zekrullah Hashimi made the group’s view of women clear by saying they cannot handle being ministers and that they should content themselves with giving birth. As part of the new changes, the Taliban have allocated separate visiting times for the Blue Mosque according to gender, i.e., women may only attend in the mornings. When compared to the Taliban’s previous rule in Afghanistan, some improvements have been made toward women, at least in theory, but the implementation is still yet to come. When compared to the rights of women in Afghanistan during the past 20 years under American control, there have been some drastic degradations upon the reinstatement of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Conclusion: Support the Women of Afghanistan

Those living in privileged spaces and people with power can do a lot to support the women of Afghanistan in their fight for their rights, and that of their future generations. Although it may be a difficult recourse, providing asylum to Afghanistan women and their families could be a step towards helping. International bodies have a significant role to play in such cases, even though they often act as directories and their recommendations and cannot be enforced . They can create guiding principles for the Afghanistan government to ensure a safe and secure environment for women. However, such guidelines can only work in theory; the execution part depends on Afghanistan’s new government. Apart from that, other nations can do their best to talk peace with the Taliban on Afghanistan women’s rights. However, any recourse majorly depends upon the people of Afghanistan and their efforts to protect themselves, but other nations must do their part for the sake of humanity.