On Feb. 11, much of the global community marked the International Day of Women and Girls in Science and Technology. But in Afghanistan, few felt like celebrating. After all, that day was the 874th since girls were banned from attending secondary school studies, and the 415th since universities shut their doors to women. The urgency [...]
Last December, US authorities marked Human Rights Day and the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by imposing a tranche of sanctions against human rights abusers spanning the globe, targeting perpetrators from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. In Afghanistan, two members of the Taliban government were targeted, as announced by a State Department press [...]
“It has been such a nightmare. You just feel powerless; you can’t comprehend any way to survive it … I long for the return of my calm and tranquil country — a country where children can live in peace.” “Air strikes have been indiscriminately killing people — all kinds of people: children, babies, doctors, journalists; [...]
“The Taliban’s new curriculum is all about killing people in the name of Jihad,” a Kabul-based teacher* told me in a recent interview. “I’m not going to teach that material, even if I know it means I will almost certainly lose my job,” the teacher said, citing an early draft of the new curriculum. Upon [...]
So you decided to vacation in the Afghan province of Herat. Who, you may be asking, would voluntarily spend their holidays in Taliban territory? But I ask that you suspend your disbelief and entertain the notion on this choose-your-own adventure journey. You packed your bags and you headed to the airport. The flight goes smoothly, [...]
After a particularly violent beating at the hands of her husband, Sohaila,* 38, was forced out onto the streets of Kabul, where she braved the elements through the night while waiting for her parents to wake up and shelter her. No sooner did her father let her in, than did she find herself being hauled [...]
The Taliban’s misguided belief that confining women to their homes protects them has led to an escalating mental health crisis and pervasive violence that are driving Afghan women to a despair from which far too many feel that suicide is the only means of escape. It was in this context that I enrolled several months [...]
Correction: This article has been amended to reflect the fact that Pakistan is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention. Pakistan cannot forcibly remove Afghan refugees residing in the country, as doing so would violate their right to non-refoulement and potentially expose them to harm. Asefa, an Afghan refugee living in Torkham port, fled [...]
Editors’ note: Amid surging violence between Hamas and Israeli forces, JURIST is seeking perspectives from law students, law professors and lawyers around the world. Neither this nor other commentaries in this series constitute JURIST editorial policy, nor do they necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial team. This commentary is a compilation of views offered [...]
The darkest epoch for women in Afghanistan transpired during the Taliban’s rule from 1996 to 2001. This era saw the deprivation of women’s fundamental human rights, as Islamic extremism and ethnocentrism supplanted freedom and democracy. Following the downfall of the Taliban regime and the establishment of an Afghan republic, a prolonged 20-year struggle between the [...]
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