Getty ImagesThe show of Shabana’s evening are the regular English lessons that she takes. It’s a short reprieve from the nothingness that has engulfed her existence since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan by taking the bus to the personal training with her buddies, chatting and laughing with them, and learning something new for an hour each day.
In another country, Shabana* would have been graduating from high school next month, pursuing her desire to get a business degree. She and all other young girls in Afghanistan have been prohibited from receiving formal training for three years.
Yet the minor joys that once made life bearable are now purged by a new law that mandates that if a lady is outside her home, yet her voice must not be heard.
” When we got out, we’re scared. When we’re on the vehicle, we’re scared. We do n’t dare to take down our masks. We even avoid interfering, believing that a Taliban member might quit and question us if she says so.
The BBC has been in Afghanistan, allowing unusual exposure to the government’s women and girls- as well as Taliban spokesmen- reacting to the new legislation, which was imposed by the Taliban’s supreme innovator Haibatullah Akhundzada.
The Armenian government’s Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Ministry, the Taliban’s ethics authorities, has sweeping authority under the laws to impose a strict code of conduct on all individuals.
It deals yet another blow to people who have already experienced a series of laws that have repeatedly shattered their rights.
” If we ca n’t speak, why even live? We’re like lifeless body moving round”, Shabana says.
” When I learned about the new laws, I made the decision to drop out of the sure.” Because I’ll stop up speaking and something bad might happen if I leave. Maybe I wo n’t return home safely. But then my mom encouraged me to continue”.
In the three years since the Taliban takeover, it’s become clear that even if edicts are n’t strictly imposed, people start self-regulating out of fear. Women are still present in small amounts on the streets of towns like Kabul, but almost all of them are now covered in loose black clothing or dark blue burqas, and the majority of them only have their eyes accessible, according to a decree that was passed last year.
” Every time you feel like you’re in a prison. Also breathing has become hard here”, said Nausheen, an advocate.
She was one of the few people who marched on the roads of Kabul and different places and demanded their right up until last year, whenever fresh restrictions were made.
The protests were fiercely cracked down on by the Taliban’s troops on several times, until they stopped immediately.
Nausheen was taken into custody last month. Why are you acting against us, the Taliban dragged me into a car. This is an Islamist system.’ They held me there in a terrifying, black space, and used obscene speech against me there. They even beat me”, she says, breaking down into grief.
When we were freed from confinement, she adds,” we were not the same individuals as before, and that’s why we stopped protesting.” ” I do n’t want to be humiliated any more because I’m a woman. To kill than to live like this is much.
Afghan people are now posting videos of themselves online, their faces covered, and singing songs about freedom to express their distaste. ” Let’s get one voice, this walk together holding hands and be free of this violence” are the lines of one such music.
The new ordinance, which included numerous references- references to religious texts- was supported by Taliban government assistant official Hamdullah Fitrat, who did n’t want to be seated with a person or sit directly opposite me.
” The rules approved by the supreme chief is in accordance with Islamic Sharia law. Any spiritual professor can verify its recommendations”, he says.
Shireen, a tutor, does not believe.
They interpret Sharia differently than they do. Both men and women have the right to decide whether to pursue research and advancement under Islam.
” If they say that children’s voices should not be heard, let’s go back to record. In Muslim past, there have been many people who have spoken out.
Getty ImagesShireen is a member of a group of Afghan people who secretly rebel against limits. The new law has only strengthened her fears because she already faces a lot of chance and is frequently forced to relocate the school’s location for safety.
The risk of discovery is so great, she don’t talk to us at home, rather choosing a quiet location.
I wake up each morning and pray that God will render the day go smoothly. I told my students that the new laws would be more challenging as a result of my explaining all of its laws. But I am so weary of all this, maybe I just want to cry,” she says”. They do n’t see people as human beings, only as instruments whose just place is inside the house.”
Karina, a psychologist who consults with a network of secret schools, has previously told us that Afghan women are suffering from a ‘pandemic of suicidal thoughts’ because of the restrictions against them.
She claims that she received a lot of calls for assistance after the new law was made. My friend informed me that this was her final message when she messaged me. She was considering how to end her life. They believe that there is no point in continuing to live and that all hope has vanished. And it’s getting harder to give them counsel.”
I questioned Hamdullah Fitrat about the Taliban government’s responsibility for the women and girls in their nation who are being depressed and having suicidal thoughts because they are not allowed to attend school.
” Our sisters ‘ education is an important issue. The spokesman said that we are working with our sisters to resolve this problem.
But now, three years later, do they really think people will believe them?
” We are awaiting a decision from our leadership. When it is made, we will all be told about it, “he replied.
It has been apparent from earlier discussions with Taliban officials that there are divisions within the Taliban government regarding the issue of women’s education, with some urging that it be restarted. But the Kandahar-based leadership has remained intransigent, and there has been no public breaking of ranks with the supreme leader’s diktats.
There are some examples of views being divergent. Unexpectedly, we were given access to a midwife training course that the Taliban’s public health ministry regularly conducts close to Kabul. It was under way when we visited, and because ours was a last-minute visit, we know it was not put on for us to see.
A senior female doctor was teaching the course to more than a dozen women in their 20s. The course combines theoretical lessons with practical exercises.
Although the students were unable to speak freely, many expressed satisfaction in doing this work.
My family is so proud of me. My children have left me at home to travel here, but they are aware that I’m serving the country. This works gives me so much positive energy,” said Safia.
Many acknowledged their privilege, and some expressed fear about whether even this might be stopped eventually. If girls were not receiving formal education after grade six, the Taliban’s health ministry did not respond to inquiries about how they would find students to take this course in the future.
One of the few industries where women have been able to work in some areas of the country is public health, security, arts and crafts. But it is n’t a formal decree that gives them permission. It’s happening through a quiet understanding between ground-level Taliban officials, NGOs and other stakeholders involved.
Even this informal system is vulnerable to the scrutiny of the Taliban’s morality police, thanks to the new law.
Sources at humanitarian organizations have told us that they are attempting to understand how the law should be interpreted, but they fear it will make operations more challenging.
Less than two months after the Taliban had held their first UN-led discussions on engagement with Afghanistan, the Taliban had requested that Afghan civil society representatives and women’s rights activists not attend.
Many in the international community have been left wondering whether accepting the Taliban’s demands for a meeting was worthwhile, and what might their future plans for cooperation look like.
The EU responded to the new law by issuing a sharply worded statement describing the restrictions as” systematically and systemic abuses… which may amount to gender persecution, which is a crime against humanity.” Additionally, the decree added that it” creates yet another self-imposed impediment to international community recognition and normalization.”
The Afghan society accepts the values embodied in the law. There are no problems. According to Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat, we want the international community to uphold Islamic laws, customs, and values in Muslim societies, particularly the UN.
The Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry announced less than two weeks ago that it would no longer cooperate with the UN mission in Afghanistan because of its legal criticism.
It provides evidence that relations that appeared to be improving just two months ago now appear to have hit a significant snag.
” I believe that when it comes to aid, the world should continue helping Afghanistan. However, there should be a rule that requires that women be present in every discussion when it comes to talking to the Taliban. And if that ca n’t happen, they]the international community ] should stop talking to them, “psychologist Karina said.
” The world must care about what’s happening with Afghan women, because if it does n’t this mentality could easily spread to them, to their homes.”
* For safety reasons, the names of all the women interviewed for this piece were changed.
Imogen Anderson and Sanjay Ganguly provided additional reporting.