How the Taliban erased women in Afghanistan: Voices silenced, skin hidden, marriage age lowered to 9

Five years after the Taliban violently seized control of Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal, the ruling group is systematically dismantling the rights of Afghan women and girls, largely in silence from the international community. The current regime's rigid laws and fundamentalist experiments are being implemented on territory once defended against the Taliban.

Historically, the Taliban, an Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist movement, controlled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Their rule ended with the invasion by U.S. and allied forces after they refused to hand over Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. After the U.S.-led coalition formally ended its combat mission in 2014, Afghan security forces took over national security, but the U.S. withdrawal in August 2021, finalized after failed negotiations, left the country in chaos.

The erosion of women's rights has occurred in waves. Four years ago, the Taliban announced extreme laws, including bans on women in parks and gyms, the reintroduction of public floggings and executions, and restrictions on education, including university access. These limitations extended to unmarried women and those without a male guardian (mahram), a rule now strictly enforced, preventing women from using public transport, buying groceries, or accessing healthcare without male accompaniment.

The situation escalated dramatically with the official Law on Morality in late 2024 and further rigorous laws enacted in 2026. The article highlights the dire consequences of the Taliban's rule, including mass killings, shrinking human rights, humanitarian crises, hunger, inflation, and the collapse of the public health system, with the treatment of women being the final blow to civilization in Afghanistan.