"Taliban" Isolates Women Out of Fear for Their Safety!

Data released by UN Women yesterday showed that nearly half of women in Afghanistan leave their homes only once or twice a month, amid restrictions imposed by the Taliban on their freedom of movement and participation in public life.

The organization added in a statement relayed by Reuters today that Afghanistan remains the only country in the world that bans girls from attending secondary school and women from enrolling in universities, as the Taliban prepares this week to mark the fifth anniversary of its return to power.

Saeed al-Khaybari, spokesperson for the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which is responsible for enforcing many of the rules imposed by the government on women, told Reuters that reports claiming women do not feel safe leaving their homes are incorrect, and that women in the country enjoy all their rights.

He added, “This is the first time in about 50 years that all Afghan citizens feel they are living in security and safety,” noting that the situation regarding women’s rights in the country is moving in a “positive direction.”

UN Women stated that the Taliban authorities have issued more than 100 decrees targeting women and girls since taking power, institutionalizing discrimination and exacerbating what it described as the world’s worst women’s rights crisis.

More than half of the women surveyed by UN Women reported leaving their homes about twice a month or less, and women comprising three-quarters of the survey participants said they feel unsafe going out without a male guardian (mahram).

The organization noted that these restrictions have contributed to worsening mental health crises, with seven out of ten women describing their mental health as “poor” or “very poor,” attributing this to isolation, loss of opportunities, and limited access to support networks.