Afghanistan: five years of Taliban power and erasure of women

They want to show the world that they are the undisputed masters of Afghanistan. In Kabul, near the former American embassy, ​​the Taliban proudly parade to celebrate their five years in power. Five years of ultra-rigorous Islam and a strict interpretation of Sharia law.

Ban on going to school after 11 years

The regime also brutally erased women from the public space. For example, they are prohibited from going to school after the age of 11. However, hidden from view, these young women defy the prohibitions and continue to study in secret schools. At 13, a teenage girl dreams of one day going to college and becoming a lawyer. Dreams of freedom, but also the constant fear of being arrested. “If they find us, things could happen to us and our school. But even if we are afraid, we continue to come to study and learn things,” she confides.

In a small jam company, some women still have the right to work. A privilege, because most jobs are now forbidden to them, as is university. "I'm very sad. I loved my studies and I wanted to finish my course. When I apply for jobs and go to interviews, the first thing they ask me is my diploma, but I was never allowed to have it," laments one woman.

Female suicide rate has skyrocketed in Afghanistan

When they came to power, the Taliban promised the international community that women's rights would be respected. Five years later, the masters of Afghanistan are showing themselves to be intractable. “At present, women work in areas where they are needed and where Islam authorizes it,” says Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson.

According to local media, since the Taliban's return to power, the suicide rate among women has exploded in Afghanistan.