Afghan Girls Fight for Education

by Isabel Batista

Every day, women in Afghanistan risk their lives for the sake of hope for not just themselves but for generations to come. After the Taliban came to power, only boys were allowed to return to school while girls 12 years and older had to stay behind. Although no such improvement has been recognized, Taliban leaders say that they will allow more representation from women than their first time in power. However, it is unlikely that women will receive more representation when there are no women involved with the government. 

Although the Taliban ensure that they have changed since the last time they went into power and that they will allow women to have greater roles, no such improvement has been shown. They also say that they want to create segregated schools for men and women, however that would be nearly impossible. Restrictions for women would also be applied to these schools like not being able to partake in sports. They would need to have a uniform and there is a possibility that the curriculum for men and women will be different. Separated schools would not only hurt women, but people who do not fit into the spectrum of male or female.

Protesting began, allowing women to voice their frustrations, although for a short period of time. After several of these protests began, the Taliban addressed that demonstrations without the approval of the government were not allowed. Since then, rallies were met with the Taliban using violence such as shootings and beatings to disperse the crowd of protesters. Women knew that their protests would never be approved, so they had to break the law in order to be heard, putting them in danger of beatings and/or jail time. And with social media, videos and pictures of the protests, it is very possible that people can identify who participated in the rallies, putting them at risk of getting turned in. This led to even more fear of attending these protests (even the people filming the protests were given harsh treatment such as whippings and beatings). 

So although change has been promised, the future for women in Afghanistan is looking bleak. With the risks of protesting increasing and their lack of power, women still do not have much of a say in Taliban society. Hopefully, with time, things will change for the better.