RASC News Agency: Sima Bahous, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, expressed deep concern over the condition of Afghanistani women and girls, stating that they are effectively imprisoned within their own homes. Deprived of education, employment, and fundamental freedoms, they face relentless oppression under Taliban rule.
On October 24, during an open debate of the UN Security Council on women, peace, and security, Bahous highlighted the ongoing suffering of Afghanistani women: “We recall the fears of millions of Afghanistani women and girls, deprived of their education, future, and voice. Silenced, their homes have become their prisons.”
Bahous also emphasized the courage of Afghanistani women, many of whom have transformed their homes into informal schools to continue educating girls despite the Taliban’s ban. She condemned the Taliban’s persistent misogyny, calling their restrictions on education and employment “relentless gender-based persecution.”
According to Bahous, Afghanistani women have been rendered captives within their own land, unable to engage in public life. Denied the right to study, work, or even experience simple joys, they endure a severe and punitive regime. Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, they have imposed widespread restrictions on women, closing schools and universities, and banning female employment across both public and private sectors.
Additionally, the Taliban have enforced strict regulations on women’s mobility and introduced harsher interpretations of Islamic law under their “Amr bil Maroof wa Nahi an al-Munkar” doctrine. This includes labeling women’s voices as “awrah” (an object of shame), further restricting their participation in society and pushing Afghanistani women deeper into isolation.
