By JADA LEMOS
Staff Writer
The Taliban is a terrorist group in Afghanistan that have recently come back to power. In the 90’s and early 2000’s, the Taliban came to power and limited women’s rights in many ways. Under Taliban rule, women are forced to fully cover their bodies when wearing clothes and are prohibited from getting an education or having a job. With this group coming back to power, the women there are fearful of what’s in store for their rights.
Recently, a Taliban spokesperson announced that “Women’s rights will be protected with Islamic Sharia law. There will be no violence against women, no discrimination against women. Of course, based within the framework of the Islamic law.” Despite having said this, Afghan women are still unsure of what to believe. Given that they’ve been under such strict laws for a long time, it’s reasonable for them to not fully trust the Taliban’s statement.
As of right now, things don’t seem to be changing for women in Afghanistan. Just a few days ago, field commanders told women to cover themselves up, and their spokesperson instructed women to temporarily stay home because their soldiers are “not trained to respect women”. Even though everything is going on, some women activists are still pushing through in Afghanistan to continue their work, and hopefully, things can change for the better of women in Afghanistan.