The show of Shabana’s evening are the regular English lessons she takes. It’s a short reprieve from the loneliness that has engulfed her existence since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan by taking the bus to the exclusive program with her friends, talking and laughing with them, and learning something new for an hour each day.
In another country, Shabana* would have been graduating from high school second year, pursuing her wish to get a business degree. She and all adolescent girls have been prohibited from receiving proper training for three decades in Afghanistan.
Yet the minor joys that once made life pleasant are now purged by anxiety as a new legislation was made that mandates that if a lady is outside her home, perhaps 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 also avoid interfering with one another because we fear that if someone from the Taliban hears us, they might stop and subject us, she says.
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 Taliban’s ethics authorities, known as the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Ministry, has broad powers under the laws to impose a strict code of conduct on Afghan people.
It deals yet another blow to women who have already experienced a continuous line of decrees that have broken their freedoms.
” 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 if I leave, I’ll stop up speaking, and then something bad might happen. 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 visible, 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 arrested next 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, dark place, and used bad terminology against me there. They even beat me”, she says, breaking over into tears.
We no longer protested because we were not the same people we were before we were released from incarceration,” she continues. ” I do n’t want to be humiliated any more because I’m a woman. It is preferable to pass away than to continue living this way.”
Afghan women are now posting videos of themselves online, their heads covered, and singing songs about independence in opposition. ” 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 high leader’s decision is in accordance with Islamic Sharia law. Any spiritual professor can verify its recommendations”, he says.
Shireen, a tutor, does not acknowledge.
They have their own understanding of Sharia, they claim. 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 restrictions. 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 protection.
The risk of discovery is so great, she never talk to us at home, rather choosing a quiet location.
I wake up each morning and pray that God will provide a safe start to the day. 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 all hope is lost and that it is pointless to continue living, she said. And counseling them is getting more and more challenging.
I questioned Hamdullah Fitrat about the Taliban’s responsibility for the country’s women and girls, who are being made to feel depressed and suicidal by being denied access to education.
” Our sisters ‘ education is an important issue. The spokesman said that we are working with our sisters to resolve this problem.
Do they still expect people to believe them, though, three years later?
” We are awaiting a decision from our leadership. When it is made, we will all be told about it, “he replied.
After a while of conversations with Taliban officials, it has become clear that there are differences between the Taliban government and those who want to restart the program. But the Kandahar-based leadership has remained intransigent, and there has been no public breaking of ranks with the supreme leader’s diktats.
There is some evidence to support the divergence in views. 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.
More than a dozen women in their 20s were enrolled in the course that was being taught by a senior female doctor. 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 of cooperation look like.
The EU responded to the new law with a sharp statement, calling the restrictions” systematic 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 obstacle to normalized relations and recognition by the international community.”
The law stipulates that the values that are expressed in the law are respected in Afghan society. There are no problems. We want the international community to adhere to Islamic laws, customs, and values of Muslim societies, according to Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat.
Getty ImagesDue to its criticism of the law, 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.
It provides evidence that relations that appeared to be improving only two months ago now seem 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.
This article was originally published on September 10 and has since been corrected due to a technical error.