RASC News Agency: The Oslo Peace Research Institute is set to host a panel discussion titled “Geopolitics and Women’s Rights Activism in Afghanistan.” The Institute’s announcement stated that the panel will focus on U.S. policies toward Afghanistan from 2018 to 2021, which facilitated the Taliban’s return to power. According to the announcement, another key aspect of the discussion will be the examination of women’s rights activism in Afghanistan.
U.S. policies enabled the Taliban to seize power, subjecting the Afghanistani people, particularly women, to severe hardships, including the denial of their rights to education and employment. The Oslo Peace Research Institute indicated that this panel will be held on August 22. This comes in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, which resulted in the deprivation of all fundamental rights for women and girls, as well as the imposition of severe restrictions on various aspects of their lives.
Following their return to power, the Taliban banned girls above the sixth grade from continuing their education and closed university doors to female students. Notably, under nearly three years of Taliban rule, girls were barred from participating in university entrance exams, which were conducted nationwide without the presence of a single female candidate.
The Taliban have consistently framed the issue of women’s rights as a domestic matter, preventing women from accessing education or engaging in work. Life under Taliban rule has proven difficult for both women and the broader Afghanistani populace, who continue to endure significant hardships.
