Afghan girls forced into marriages, education denied
Aug 23, 2023
Kabul [Afghanistan], August 24 : Following the two years of Taliban's rule in Afghanistan, the lack of opportunities for girls has led them to fall into arranged marriages and denied enrollment in religious schools, reported Khaama Press.
Farzanah, an 11th-grade student said, “I have been living at home for two years, and I have fallen behind in my studies. I dreamed of becoming a successful doctor, but now I can only attend a religious school.”
She emphasized that women possess equal rights to pursue education as well as employment in society, just like men.
Moreover, women’s rights activists view these practices as hazardous and limiting the progress of women’s rights, Khaama Press reported.
Julia Parsi, a civil activist in Afghanistan’s women’s movement highlighted, "Afghan girls suffer from poor mental and emotional well-being due to rampant forced marriages. Tragically, instances of girls taking their own lives are being reported across various provinces.”
Parsi further stated that the Taliban government is trying to exclude women from social and economic spheres.
Since the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan schools banned girls from getting admitted beyond the sixth grade, and their expected reopening within these two years remains indefinitely deferred.
Taliban's rule in Afghanistan caused displacement of multiple women from government and non-government positions which made them lose their jobs, reported Khaama Press.
The ban on women's beauty salons in Afghanistan came into effect last month following the deadline given by the Ministry of Vice and Virtue on July 4, reported Tolo News.
Taliban, in a new verbal decree, banned women's beauty salons in Kabul and other provinces across the country. Moreover, the ban on women's beauty salons resulted in 60,000 women losing their jobs across the country.
Leila Basim, a women’s rights activist and protester, stressed that barring girls from education for two years severely harms women.
The United Nations said that the forced closure of women's beauty salons could have a negative impact on the economy of women. The Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq also asked the Taliban authorities to halt the mandate of closing beauty salons, Tolo News reported.
