According to Foreign Policy, subsequentially following a two-day meeting between Taliban officials and Qatar representatives, the Taliban has moved to lift the ban on women’s rights that, since 1996 when Taliban took rule within Afghanistan, has restricted women from pursuing any sort of scholarly education, from the disclusion of young girls within grade school to restricting young women from being able to pursue higher education at a university level. Although, this announcement has yet to be set in stone in regards to proving a lack of written record, it should be noted that this elevation is a significant improvement in regards to recognizing global women’s rights, noting that it is detrimentally symbolic in efforts to achieve peace, stability and equality among Taliban participants within the Afghan region.
According to the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMP), ample restrictions have been imposed on women’s rights since 1996 when the Taliban took rule in Afghanistan. These constraints include: the omission of women from the workforce, the disclusion of women from schools, as well as the expulsion of current women students from universities, enforcing women to wear a garment that covers their entire bodies whether they willed to or not, the inability for a women to be examined by a male physician, while also restricting women from obtaining doctoral/nursing roles reportedly causing the death of numerous women in regards to curable illnesses and diseases left untreated, as well as enforcing many women under house arrest, with the discriminatory marking of black paint over the windows of many women’s houses. Under these brutal impositions, The FMP states that many women were “brutally beaten, publically flogged, and [even] killed for violating Taliban decrees” (FMP). Although it should be acclaimed that since the 2001 defeat of the Taliban within Afghanistan, many women have reclaimed several of their inherent human rights with regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), it need be noted that still others have still suffered massive repression in regards to entering the workforce, as well receiving necessary education in order to reach their optimal personal and career goals.
Thus, the reenactment of enforcing women’s rights as regarded in the statement provided by FP which conveys that: “while not binding, raised the prospect of peace in Afghanistan” (FP) should be concluded as a significant effort in regards to promoting global peace and recognition of women’s inherent human rights, especially within the Afghan region, as well as providing prospects of peace within the entire Middle East.
Works Cited:
“Afghan Taliban Change Stance on Women’s Rights; India Unaware of Dawood Ibrahim’s Location; Pakistan Inaugurates Solar Park.” ForeignPolicy.org. Foreign Policy, 2015. Web. 5th May 2015.
“Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls.” Feminist.org. Feminist Majority Foundation, n.d. Web. 5th May 2015.
United Nations. United Nations Publications, 2015. Web. 5th May 2015.
