Taliban rule in Afghanistan has now lasted five years, and for the country’s women, the cost has been severe. They are banned from parks and other public spaces, shut out of most jobs, and school doors close for girls once they turn 12.
The restrictions imposed by the current administration have systematically removed women from the public sphere. A ban on entering recreational areas such as parks is just one of the measures confining them to their homes, while the job market remains overwhelmingly inaccessible to female employees.
In education, the picture is equally bleak. Girls are not allowed to pursue formal schooling beyond the age of 12, a policy that cuts short their futures and reinforces the cycle of inequality. The cumulative effect of these rules is a near total erasure of women from daily civic life.
FRANCE 24’s Peter O’Brien discussed the situation with Melissa Cornet, an independent researcher based in Kabul. The conversation shed light on the challenges facing Afghan women under the current leadership.
As the Taliban marks its fifth year in power, the world watches as Afghan women are systematically pushed out of sight, a development that continues to draw concern from international organizations and human rights advocates.
