The fall of the Ashraf Ghani government, collapsing like a house of cards, paved the way for the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan. With their return has come a new wave of rigid, orthodox rules—once again targeting women most severely. Reports of harassment and brutalities against women multiplied as the Taliban advanced across the country, and the new regime has already unveiled policies that strip women of their rights and exclude them from representation in government. This directly contradicts earlier Taliban assurances that women would retain access to education and work.
Anger is rising. Afghan women have launched defiant protests, determined to resist a return to the dark era of the 1990s.
Whips Against Protest
Women have rallied in Kabul and other cities, demanding their rights. Many have openly expressed solidarity with the Panjshir resistance and denounced neighbouring Pakistan for facilitating the Taliban’s return to power.
While the Taliban leadership has claimed to permit peaceful demonstrations, fighters on the ground have responded with violence. Protesters and journalists alike have been beaten with whips, assaulted, and detained. “They [the Taliban] hit us with whips and told us to go home and accept the Emirate,” one protester recounted. Videos circulating on social media show Taliban fighters lashing women, exposing the brutality of “Taliban 2.0” as no different from its predecessor.
The Courage to Defy
For Afghan women, defying the Taliban is an act of extraordinary courage. They risk not only their freedom but also their lives to preserve the reforms and opportunities of the last 20 years. Since the Taliban’s removal in 2001, school enrolment for both boys and girls surged, and women became visible in education, the workplace, and politics. The abrupt reversal of these gains is intolerable to many.
“We don’t care if they beat us or even shoot us, we want to defend our rights. We will continue our protests even if we get killed,” declared a woman from Kabul’s Karte Char neighbourhood.
Journalists covering these protests are also facing reprisals: beaten in the streets, detained, and stripped of their equipment.
New Decrees, Old Oppression
The Taliban have issued new decrees dictating how women study, what they wear, and who may teach them. Women are being advised to stay home—effectively banning them from work and governance. Girls are already barred from sport. The Taliban have declared cricket and other athletics “unnecessary” for women because of bodily exposure.
Australia, in response, has pledged not to play Afghanistan’s men’s team if women are excluded. Yet, for the Taliban, sport is dispensable—what matters to them is control, not participation in international norms.
Fear Across the Country
A climate of fear grips Afghan women. “There has been incredible fear among Afghan women due to obscure positions taken by the Taliban. This fear is palpable across the country,” said Alison Davidian, Deputy Head of UN Women in Afghanistan. She reminded the world that memories of the 1990s remain raw, when women were barred from education, work, and even appearing in public without full veiling and a male escort.
The Taliban have vowed to enforce Sharia law in their governance of women’s lives. For Afghan women, this signals a return to restrictions on education, the enforced covering of faces, and confinement to the home.
Conclusion
Afghan women are standing on the frontline of resistance, armed only with their voices and courage. Their protests are a stark reminder that, despite Taliban promises, the reality is unchanged: repression, exclusion, and violence. Whether the international community acts to defend their rights, or once again leaves them to face the Taliban alone, remains the defining question.