Gender and Ethnic Apartheid under the Taliban in Afghanistan

The resurgence of the ultraconservative Taliban with the coup d’etat on 15th August 2021 elucidated the weakness of the international efforts at ensuring stability and peace in Afghanistan. The country witnessed one of the biggest humanitarian crises in history. The Taliban led by the radical Islamic association curbed women’s rights to employment, education, and justice. The paper enlists the various restrictions put on women in Afghanistan. It is followed by a discussion on the cultural appropriation through religious extremism that denied women access to equal rights. The paper highlights the compromise on religious considerations for women’s rights using traditional tribal cultural norms and rules. The paper elucidates the amalgamation of tribal culture and religion in Afghanistan that allowed the Taliban to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the population for the restrictive obligations on women put on women. The following section studies the factionalism and apartheid based on ethnicity, language, and religion which undermines minority rights in the country. Finally, the paper concludes by recommending suggestions and policies that would aid the extension of wider international support for women and human rights in Afghanistan.

Authors

• Simranjeet Kaur, Master of Arts candidate in International Affairs (specialization in Security Studies), Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies