Treatment of women by the Taliban

The treatment of women by the Taliban refers to actions and policies by various Taliban regimes which are either specific or highly commented upon, mostly due to discrimination, since they first took control in 1996. During their first rule of Afghanistan (1996–2001), the Taliban were notorious internationally for their misogyny and violence against women.^[1][2] In 1996, women were mandated to wear the burqa at all times in public.^[3][4] In a systematic segregation sometimes referred to as gender apartheid, women were not allowed to work, nor were they allowed to be educated after the age of eight. Women seeking an education were forced to attend underground schools, where they and their teachers risked execution if caught.^[5][6] They were not allowed to be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a male chaperone, which led to illnesses remaining untreated. They faced public flogging and execution for violations of the Taliban's laws.^{[7]: 12, 31–32 [8]}

After their takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban initially granted women permission to attend universities, albeit in gender segregated classrooms, under the condition that they followed "Islamic standards."^[9] However, by September 2021, they restricted access to education for teenage girls by allowing only boys to resume schooling. Additionally, they prohibited women in Afghanistan from working in most sectors beyond health and education.^[10][11][12] Some provinces still allow secondary education for girls, despite the nation-wide ban.^[13][14] Women were mandated to wear face coverings in public, and barred from travelling more than 45 miles (70 km) without a close male relative. In July 2022, Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban's reclusive leader, rejected international criticism and demands for easing human rights restrictions, refusing any negotiations or compromises on the Taliban's "Islamic system" of governance. ^[15][16][17] In December 2022, the Taliban government extended the ban on university education for women and barred them from working in NGOs.^[18][19] Within two years of seizing the country, the Taliban shut down beauty salons and banned women from accessing gyms and parks.^[20]

The treatment of women by Taliban may amount to gender apartheid, according to the United Nations.^[21]