Taliban
From 1996-2001 until Now: With the RAWA Study, One Might Smell Hypocrisy about
Taliban Leaders’ Recent Assurances to Defend Women's Rights
Main
Points
1.
Taliban promised that the rights of women would be protected under the
framework of "Sharia", but they have not provided any additional details.
2. From
1996 to 2001, repression was a component of the Taliban's reign, as they
imposed several restrictions on women.
3. The
Revolutionary Association of Afghan Women (RAWA) published an “abbreviated”
list of 29 restrictions imposed on women and 11 restrictions imposed on all
Afghans between 1996 and 2001.
4. The
four schools of Islamic law disagree on the subject of Hijab and Niqab.
5. The only point on which the four schools of
Islamic jurisprudence disagreed was whether a woman's hands and face should be
covered or left exposed.
6.
Taliban are unlikely to reform and the greatest fears of women in Afghan
may come true.
-------
By
New Age Islam Staff Writer
31 August
2021
Daily life in Kabul in 1988, one year before civil war broke out.
Patrick Robert/Sygma via Getty Images
-----
The Taliban
controlled almost three-quarters of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, enforcing a
harsh interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. The Taliban arose as one of the
most powerful forces in the Afghan Civil War in 1994, consisting primarily of
students (Talib) from Pashtun districts of eastern and southern Afghanistan and
had fought in the Soviet-Afghan War. The movement extended throughout most of
Afghanistan under Mohammed Omar's leadership. In 1996, the Taliban formed the
dictatorial Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and Kandahar became the new Afghan
capital. At its peak, only three countries, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates recognised the Taliban's authority. After being ousted
from power in 2001, the Taliban reorganised as an insurgent force to fight the
US-backed Karzai administration and the NATO-led International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan's war. As a result of the war, thousands
of civilians were killed, and millions were displaced. After two decades of
fighting, the Taliban have raced to victory in Afghanistan. The group took
Kabul on August 15, 2021, capping an extremely quick push across the country.
All of this occurred as a result of the US-Taliban peace agreement, in which
Taliban leaders have sworn to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven
for terrorists posing a threat to the West. However, concerns have already been
expressed about how the group plans to govern the country, as well as the
implications of their rule for women, human rights, and political liberties.
Although
the Taliban clearly promised an amnesty shortly after reclaiming control in
Afghanistan and stated that women and girls would be permitted to attend school
and even work within the framework of "Sharia", they have not
provided any additional details. At a news conference, Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid said that women will have rights to education, health care,
and jobs and that they will be "happy" under the “Sharia Law”. He
added saying “The Taliban is dedicated to ensuring women's rights based on Islam.
Women can work in the health sector and other fields where they are required.
There will be no discrimination against women”. Suhail Shaheen, another Taliban
spokesman, says the group will respect women's and minorities' rights "as
per Afghan customs and Islamic values."
A woman holds a placard as Afghan migrants demonstrate against the
Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, on the island of Lesbos, Greece. (REUTERS)
------
Concerns
are being raised about how the Taliban would interpret Islamic teachings this
time about women’s rights. The last time they were in power from 1996 to 2001,
repression was a component of the Taliban's reign. They moved quickly to impose
several restrictions on women. Women were unable to attend school, have
employment, or leave their houses without the presence of a male relative.
Those who disobeyed the Taliban's orders and their interpretation of Islam were
subjected to floggings or beatings, which were often cruel and against Islam,
according to several other interpretations of Islam.
The
Revolutionary Association of Afghan Women (RAWA) published an “abbreviated”
list of 29 restrictions imposed on women and 11 restrictions imposed on all
Afghans between 1996 and 2001, when the Taliban ruled. After two decades, the
Taliban leaders are reported to have said that they would respect women’s
rights as per Islamic values and the questions are to be raised about what are
the Islamic values they are referring to in their interviews. Are the “Islamic
values” of 2021 are going to be different from those of 1996-2001? Since in
Islamic Jurisprudence, there is somewhat flexibility and the derivative rules
[furu’i masail] might be changed to be adjustable with the need of the time,
can we expect so from the Taliban? Another concern is if they will build a new
jurisprudence to be known as Talibani jurisprudence, as there are various types
of Islamic jurisprudence in the traditional interpretation of Islam; Hanafi,
Shafii, Maliki, Hanbali, and Jafari – with each having a different
interpretation in the derivative rules of Islam.
For
example, on the subject of Hijab and Niqab, the only point on which Muslim
jurists of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence disagreed was whether a
woman's hands and face should be covered or left exposed. The four schools of
Islamic law disagree on this point. Most Maliki and Hanafi jurists believed
that a woman's complete body ought to be covered, except for her face and hands.
The Hanbali and Shafii jurisprudence, the two strictest of the four schools,
required Muslim women to cover their entire bodies, including their face and
hands. As for the Taliban’s Hijab Law, it is unclear at this time, despite
Talibani spokespersons recently agreeing to allow women to work in offices,
whether there would be a concession in the law of Hijab or if the strictest
version of Hijab will be made mandatory for women. Concerns regarding women's
rights arise when we consider the Taliban's past, which initially emerged in
the public arena twenty years ago as the most radical organisation denying
women their rights.
Taliban
restrictions and mistreatment of women during its reign from 1996 to 2001,
according to RAWA’s report, include the:
1- Complete
ban on women's work outside the home, which also applies to female teachers,
engineers, and most professionals. Only a few female doctors and nurses are
allowed to work in some hospitals in Kabul.
2- Complete
ban on women's activity outside the home unless accompanied by a mahram (close
male relative such as a father, brother, or husband).
3- Ban on
women dealing with male shopkeepers.
4- Ban on
women being treated by male doctors.
5- Ban on
women studying at schools, universities, or any other educational institution.
(Taliban have converted girls' schools into religious seminaries.)
6-
Requirement that women wear a long veil (Burqa), which covers them from head to
toe.
7-
Whipping, beating, and verbal abuse of women not clothed in accordance with
Taliban rules, or of women unaccompanied by a mahram.
8- Whipping
of women in public for having non-covered ankles.
9- Public
stoning of women accused of having sex outside marriage. (A number of lovers
are stoned to death under this rule).
10- Ban on
the use of cosmetics. (Many women with painted nails have had fingers cut off).
11- Ban on
women talking or shaking hands with non-mahram males.
12- Ban on
women laughing loudly. (No stranger should hear a woman's voice).
13- Ban on
women wearing high heel shoes, which would produce sound while walking. (A man
must not hear a woman's footsteps.)
14- Ban on
women riding in a taxi without a mahram.
15- Ban on
women's presence in radio, television, or public gatherings of any kind.
16- Ban on
women playing sports or entering a sports center or club.
17- Ban on
women riding bicycles or motorcycles, even with their mahrams.
18- Ban on
women wearing brightly coloured clothes. In Taliban terms, these are
"sexually attracting colours."
19- Ban on
women gathering for festive occasions such as the Eids, or for any recreational
purpose.
20- Ban on
women washing clothes next to rivers or in a public place.
21-
Modification of all place names including the word "women." For
example, "women's garden" has been renamed "spring garden".
22- Ban on
women appearing on the balconies of their apartments or houses.
23-
Compulsory painting of all windows, so women can’t be seen from outside their
homes.
24- Ban on
male tailors taking women's measurements or sewing women's clothes.
25- Ban on
female public baths.
26- Ban on
males and females travelling on the same bus. Public buses have now been
designated "males only" (or "females only").
27- Ban on
flared (wide) pant-legs, even under a burqa.
28- Ban on
the photographing or filming of women.
29- Ban on
women's pictures printed in newspapers and books, or hung on the walls of
houses and shops.”
It further
says, “Apart from the above restrictions on women, the Taliban has:
- Banned
listening to music, not only for women but men as well.
- Banned
the watching of movies, television, and videos, for everyone.
- Banned
celebrating the traditional New Year (Nowroz) on March 21. The Taliban has
proclaimed the holiday un-Islamic.
- Disavowed
Labour Day (May 1st) because it is deemed a "communist" holiday.
- Ordered
that all people with non-Islamic names change them to Islamic ones.
- Forced
haircuts upon Afghan youth.
- Ordered
that men wear Islamic clothes and a cap.
- Ordered
that men not shave or trim their beards, which should grow long enough to
protrude from a fist clasped at the point of the chin.
- Ordered
that all people attend prayers in mosques five times daily.
- Banned
the keeping of pigeons and playing with the birds, describing it as un-Islamic.
The violators will be imprisoned and the birds shall be killed. The kite flying
has also been stopped.
- Ordered
all onlookers, while encouraging the sportsmen, to chant Allah-o-Akbar (God is
great) and refrain from clapping.
- Ban on
certain games including kite flying which is "un-Islamic" according
to Taliban.
- Anyone
who carries objectionable literature will be executed.
- Anyone
who converts from Islam to any other religion will be executed.
- All boy
students must wear turbans. They say "No turban, no education".
-
Non-Muslim minorities must distinct badge or stitch a yellow cloth onto their
dress to be differentiated from the majority Muslim population. Just like what
did Nazis with Jews.
- Banned
the use of the internet by both ordinary Afghans and foreigners.
And so
on...”
Rawa
further says that The Special Rapporteur's attention has been called to the
Ordinance on the Women's Veil, which has allegedly been issued by a nine-member
professional committee of the High Court of the Islamic State of Afghanistan
and which reads as follows:
"A
denier of the veil is an infidel and an unveiled woman is lewd".
"Conditions
of wearing a veil:
1. The veil
must cover the whole body.
2. Women's
clothes must not be thin.
3. Women's
clothes must not be decorated and colourful.
4. Women's
clothes must not be narrow and tight to prevent the seditious limbs from being
noticed. The veil must not be thin.
5. Women
must not perfume themselves. If a perfumed woman passes by a crowd of men, she
is considered to be adulterous.
6. Women's
clothes must not resemble men's clothes.
"In
addition,
1. They
must not perfume themselves.
2. They
must not wear adorning clothes.
3. They
must not wear thin clothes.
4. They
must not wear narrow and tight clothes.
5. They
must cover their entire bodies.
6. Their
clothes must not resemble men's clothes.
7. Muslim
women's clothes must not resemble non-Muslim women's clothes.
8. Their
foot ornaments must not produce sound.
9. They
must not wear sound-producing garments.
10. They
must not walk in the middle of the streets.
11. They
must not go out of their houses without their husband's permission.
12. They
must not talk to strange men.
13. If it
is necessary to talk, they must talk in a low voice and without laughter.
14. They
must not look at strangers.
15. They
must not mix with strangers."
Source:
http://www.rawa.org/rules.htm
After
considering the findings of the RAWA survey as well as the recent vows of
Taliban spokespersons to protect women's rights, one would infer that the
Taliban are unlikely to reform and that Afghan women's worst fears may come
true.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/taliban-afghan-women-reform/d/125299
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism