Today, the situation of Afghanistan women under the rule of Taliban is in center stage. But this suppression of women is not only the result of Taliban rule. The women’s subjugation in Afghanistan has a whole history. Thus, by only analyzing the situation of women by before and after the Taliban will not be an accurate way, instead to ensure women in Afghanistan to be seen as an integral part of the nation, one must explore deeply within the historical background of Afghanistan.

The doom of modernization efforts in Kabul has always been the result of underdevelopment of rural Afghanistan. The rural Afghanistan is the center of social traditionalism and economic underdevelopment. That is the reason it is very essential to empower women in these regions. The lives of rural Afghanistan women have always been in the control of gender roles determined by patriarchal mindset. They have always been a victim of male chauvinism. This patriarchal mindset has been originated from tribal traditions and their holy book ‘Quran’ where men exercise unqualified and unacceptable power over women.

Thus, for empowering women’s status in Afghanistan there should be a combined agreement of Islamic and secular ideas of gender roles accompanying the economic rebuilding of rural Afghanistan.

Two significant period in the history of Afghanistan have created gender drift and affected the status of women. The first epoch took place during the rule of Amanullah in the year of 1923. He initiated quick reforms to improve the lives of women and their position in the family. But those reforms resulted into extensive protest and ultimately in the demise of Amanullah’s rule.  The second epoch took place during the leadership of PDPA (communist backed people’s democratic party of Afghanistan). The agenda initiated by PDPA for social change to empower women led to a decade of war between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union which gave birth to Mujahideen and the decline of status of women. This historical review bring notice to the division of urban and rural Afghanistan. Kabul has always been the center of cosmopolitics and will continue to be a modernization center but there should be an equal economic development and change in structure of power in rural Afghanistan as well. Thus, such structural changes are significant to the enhancement of status of women in Afghanistan and can only happen when the rural region also becomes a significant part of Afghanistan’s new plans for economic development.  

There had been few women in the history of Afghanistan who stood for their rights and walked towards modernization but despite these examples the rural women in Afghanistan were oppressed through tribal customs. Those few women who were visible publicly were from royal family and represented a very tiny population of the nation. The women in Afghanistan can become role models and open a window to a larger section of women to empower themselves but for that they must be treated important to the development of nation. They must be included in the economic development plans of the nation. Afghanistan, today being in a state of bankruptcy and needing external aid must now acknowledge women to come forward  and help their family  and nation financially along men to protect and rebuild their nation.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

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We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.

We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge