As Talibans take control, women’s rights diminish
I don’t know much about the Taliban, but what happened recently in Afghanistan really interested me. Maybe it’s my innate wish to protect those around me, or my sense of justice that was awakened. But what I learned about how the Talibans treat women really surprised me.
For those who don’t know, the Taliban is a terrorist group in Afghanistan who recently took control of the country. As they did so, fear and uncertainty also took control, especially among women. The Taliban is doing the same thing they did back in the 1990s.
We see how the Taliban treats women; they are allowed to beat them if they are caught doing something that is “against the law”.
In this picture we can see how women are forced to dress when they go out. They need to wear burkas that cover them from head to toes. Taliban men can hurt any woman seen on the streets without her husband; this is not allowed because they should always be accompanied by a man.
Women most likely won’t be allowed to go to school, either. This represents a major step back for them, since they had enjoyed the right to education thanks to the security that the U.S. soldiers had given them for the past 20 years. That could all change now that the Taliban are back, and someone who has recently spoken up about it is Malala Yousafzai, a face we know because she survived a Taliban attack on her life for speaking up about her right to education. You can read her article in the New York Times here.
If you are reading this article and you are a girl, you should feel lucky and blessed for being in school and having a future. All of us should strive to create a world in which men are not better than women. All girls should be free to become doctors, scientists, and engineers if they choose to be. Join the cause and bring attention to this topic using the hashtag #YouAreNotAlone.
