Authored By: Kgolagano Yende
Stadio Higher Education
Introduction
Patriarchy has existed in different religions and cultures across different nations for decades. A lot of women have suffered discrimination simply because they are women. An Afghan woman is not recognised as equal to men even by their law. Their basic human rights have been systematically stripped away from them. A misogynistic government will create a set of laws or rules that will look like an honour to tradition or religion, but when you look closely you start notice a pattern of discrimination towards women that will potentially create an unsafe environment for them in the long run. The Taliban law has completely silenced their woman and placed their entire existence in the hands of their men. Multiple laws that show serious discrimination towards women have been put in place since the Taliban government came back into power, some of these laws which are in contrast with the United Nations Rights for woman and girls will be discussed on this article.
Legal framework
International human rights law:
The convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women was adopted by the United Nations general assembly on 18 December 1979. Round about 1989, almost a hundred nations agreed to be bound by the convention and its provisions Afghanistan included. This treaty was made to protects women’s rights and ensure gender equality. These are some of the laws that were made to protects women’s rights:
Article 2: stated that states must remove any laws that indicate any sort of discrimination against woman.
Article 10: states that every state must allow equal education for all.
Article 11: everyone must be treated as equal.
When the Taliban came back into power in 2021, they made changes some of which showed discrimination towards women. The de facto authorities made a public gazette, “law on the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice on the 21st of august 2024, on the 9th of July 2024 the gazette was approved by the Taliban leader and there are some of the aspects that were found in this gazette:
Article 13:
- Its mandatory for the woman to cover their entire body
- Showing face in public is regarded as seduction, so woman must always cover their face.
- A woman’s voice whether it’s singing songs loudly, reciting praise and reading in public spaces is condemned.
- The type of clothes that they wear should not be thin, tight nor short.
- Unrelated men are not allowed to see any woman’s body parts
- Muslim woman must cover their body and face from non-believing men.
- Men and woman that are not related must not look at each other.
- A woman voice, face and body must be concealed in public.
In March 2022 it was announced that girls are not allowed to go to school after 6th grade, excluding girls from school not only is it unfair but it shows a clear indication of discrimination against innocent girls that also want quality education. This will not only lead to woman having narrow career choices but will also lead to less career opportunities. Higher educational institutions and universities are not allowed to offer admissions to any women/girls.
In early January 2026 a decree n. 0 12 was set in place which basically stated that husbands are now allowed to physically abuse their wives without causing any serious injuries and open wounds. Women in Afghanistan are not allowed to be without a male companion, which is going to make
Article 3: all the states parties that are part of the present Covenant must ensure that both woman and men have equal rights so that they can all enjoy civil and political rights. Under the 2024 public gazzete, changes that were made were mostly it difficult for the women to seek help if they had serious injuries. Not only will it be difficult to seek help, but it will be difficult to prove that they were seriously injured because they are not allowed to show any skin in public spaces. The United Nations has laws in place which protects each person’s right.
Violation of rights: discriminatory towards woman, limiting their freedom while the males still get to enjoy all the civil and political rights.
Article 12: residents within a territory must be afforded the liberty of movement and choose their own residence. Since women in Afghanistan are not allowed to travel without a male companion and talk to whoever they wish to talk to, their right to freedom has been violated and once again the male still get the upper hand.
Article 26 of the United Nations Decleration of rights states that every person should be seen as equal before they law and they must be entitled to equal protection by the law without any discrimination. These rights are put in place to protect of sex, language colour, religion, political or any other opinion. This is the opposite of what the Taliban regime has emphasised indicating a clear regression in woman’s rights.
Right to protest injustice
Both men and woman in Afghanistan are aware of these injustices and discrimination that their woman are facing, some of these laws make it impossible for male activist to fight for what is right because they will face serious consequences (a year in prison along with corporate punishment). Universal declaration of human rights article 19 states that every individual have the right to freedom of opinion and expression including being able to hold opinions without interference. Clearly an individual’s right to freedom of opinion is being violated in this regard. These laws are not put in place to maintain order within the country, they are put in place to prejudice against innocent woman who just want freedom, seek education and long to be heard.
Conclusion
The Taliban law does not directly affect males just woman, all the hijab directive, the ban of girls education beyond 6th grade, the ban of higher education for woman and girls, the ban of women and girls from medical institutions, the ban on woman servants, the ban on woman working with national and international non- governmental organisation and the united nations, the ban of beauty salons, standardisation of woman civil servants salaries are all signs of a misogynistic government, leaving woman behind while the males thrives and actively participating in the society without any threats or fear.
Injustice is injustice, it’s clear as day that the Taliban law is discriminatory against woman. Everyone must be afforded the peace of mind to live in a country that prioritises their security and protects their rights. Even though civil servants an ongoing charges against Afghanistan at the international court made by Canada, Germany, Australia and The Netherlands, other remedies must be given to some of the woman are enduring the physical abuse from their husbands, it’s unfair to live like this let alone face this kind of brutality from the very same law that is supposed to be protecting them.
Reference(S):
International Treaties and Declarations
United Nations General Assembly, _Universal Declaration of Human Rights_ (10 December 1948) UNGA Res 217 A(III) <https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights>
Reports and Resource Papers
UN Women and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, _Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): Legal Review of Measures Introduced by Afghanistan’s de facto Authorities that Impact Women and Girls_ (Resource Paper, 2023) <https://asiapacific.unwomen.org>
Statements and NGO Reports
Afghanistan Analysts Network, ‘Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice’ (Unofficial Translation, August 2024) <https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org> accessed 8 August 2026
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women’ <https://www.ohchr.org/en/women/cedaw>
UN Women, ‘UN Women Afghanistan Statement on Decree No. 12 issued by the de facto authorities’ (25 February 2024) <https://asiapacific.unwomen.org>
