Part of my intention for starting this blog was to keep attention on Afghanistan, particularly on the situation of women. I am now noticing that there are less media reports on what is happening in the country. While the Taliban government says its attitude towards women is not the same as it was 20 years ago – that they can continue to work and be educated, in line with Islamic law – violence by Taliban military towards women continues. My friend U has reported two incidents she has heard of.
"On 11 September 2021 the Taliban beat a woman by the name of Fahima in Kandahar province, in front of her family. She was working for one of the charity organisations in Kandahar and was responsible for distributing food to IDPs – Internally Displaced People – and other poor families. At that time a group of Taliban attacked her home and beat her seriously. They told her to stay at home and if she continued her work they would kill her.
On the same day, the Taliban killed a pregnant woman in Kabul, just because she wasn't wearing the Islamic Hijab. Her husband said their door was open and their child went outside. His wife came out of the house just to bring her baby back into their home, and the Taliban shot her dead."