‘In Kabul, A Cat Has More Freedom Than A Woman’: Revisiting Women’s Struggles Under The Taliban

In Kabul today, a cat has more freedom than a woman. A cat can bask in the sun and roam freely. A girl cannot. These powerful words by Meryl Streep at the UN General Assembly resonated globally. They filled us with guilt—guilt for moving on and ignoring Afghanistan’s ongoing crisis. Once, we promised to help Afghan women. Today, those promises feel hollow. Society has grown indifferent, even accepting, of this grim reality. We seem resigned to the belief that neither the Taliban nor this injustice will change.

Afghan women’s cries echoed worldwide in 2021 when Joe Biden withdrew US troops. The Taliban took over, enforcing their oppressive regime. Initially, activists and feminists demanded justice. But as time passed, the movement lost momentum. Now, Afghanistan is drowning in regressive laws, erasing women’s rights.

Once, Afghanistan was progressive. Women voted as early as 1919, decades ahead of countries like Switzerland and France. In the mid-20th century, Afghan women were lawyers, doctors, and government officials. They enjoyed freedoms unthinkable under today’s Taliban regime. Laurence Lacombe’s photographs from the 1970s show Kabul women experimenting with fashion and attending mixed-gender classes. This progress halted after 1989, when religious extremists took control.

The Taliban’s first rule in 1996 crushed women’s freedoms. They banned women from work, education, and public spaces. Today, their laws are harsher. Women can no longer attend school, work for NGOs, or even appear in public without a male guardian. The Taliban replaced the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with a morality police force. Women face imprisonment, torture, and even death for minor defiance.

Global treaties like CEDAW, which Afghanistan ratified in 2003, now lie ignored. The Taliban enforces restrictions through verbal decrees. Rebellion often leads to execution. Women have no access to education, jobs, or healthcare. Female journalists must cover their faces. Basic needs like traveling or visiting coffee shops are forbidden. The list of restrictions is endless.

Books like The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis highlight this grim reality. Parvana, a young Afghan girl, disguises herself as a boy to support her family. Her childhood vanishes in the struggle for survival. Similarly, Betty Mahmoody’s Not Without My Daughter reveals how basic rights become privileges in oppressive societies.

Afghanistan’s plight mirrors struggles in countries like Iran, Syria, and Somalia. Misogyny and violence against women persist globally. Blaming groups like the Taliban is easy. Yet our collective silence perpetuates these injustices. Change begins with us. Staying silent is no longer an option.

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