In Taliban 2.0's Afghanistan, women who had escaped the clutches of their abusive partners through divorce are being forced to return to their ex-husbands. Before the Taliban took over in 2021, women in the country were slowly and steadily gaining some semblance of rights; one of them was to divorce their abusive husbands.
"For many women across the world, walking outside the front door of your home is an ordinary part of life.For many Afghan women, it is extraordinary. It is an act of defiance," one of the campaigners in Kabul said.
During the debate on Afghanistan at UNHRC on July 1, several nations urged the Taliban to take steps to keep its commitments to allow women and children to have the right to education and participate in civil life.
Women in Afghanistan Worry Peace Accord With Taliban Could Cost Them Hard-Won Rights
In interviews with more than 15 Afghan womenâs rights leaders, we heard frustration over womenâs exclusion from the peace talks given that women are the main victims of Afghanistanâs 40-year conflict.
Afghan men carry the coffin of one of three female media workers who were shot and killed by unknown gunmen, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan March 3, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Parwiz
These are the latest victims on a long list of assassinations and attempted assassinations of female politicians and womenâs rights activists. Such attacks have intensified since the government began peace negotiations with the Taliban militant group in September 2020. In the past year, 17 human rights defenders have been killed in Afghanistan.