CASR

Canadian
American
Strategic
Review

CF  in  Southern  Afghanistan  –  Afghan  Women  –  March  2006 Wondering why Canadian Forces are in Kandahar Province? Afghan Women tell us what life was like under the Taliban. Excerpts from a list of restrictions imposed on Afghan women and children. [Ed:  If  it  were not for  the presence of our Canadian Forces,  along  with  other troops deployed  by both  NATO and  non-NATO countries, the Taliban  would  return.  They continue to be backed by powerful factions within the Pakistani government, their Army and the Intelligence Service.  If  the Taliban were allowed to once again take over power in Afghanistan, their extreme restrictions on the lives of ordinary people  –  especially on the lives of women  –  would be re-instated.] These excerpts are taken from a website maintained by activist Afghan women. A list of some of the restrictions imposed by Taliban on women in Afghanistan The following list offers only an abbreviated glimpse of the hellish lives that Afghan women [were] forced to lead under the Taliban, and cannot begin to reflect the depth of female deprivations and sufferings. The Taliban treat women worse than they treat animals. In fact, even as the Taliban declared that the keeping of caged birds and animals would be illegal, they imprisoned Afghan women within the four walls of their own houses. Taliban  restrictions  and  mistreatment  of  women  included  the  following:  1) Complete ban on women's work outside the home,  which also applied to      female  teachers,  engineers, and  most [other] professionals.  (Only  a  few      female doctors and nurses were allowed to work in some hospitals in Kabul.)  2) Complete ban on women's activity outside the home unless accompanied      by a  mahram  (a 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. The Taliban converted girls' schools into [madrassas for boys].  6) Requirement for women to wear a long veil  (burqa),  which covered them      from head to toe.  7) Women not clothed in accordance with Taliban rules, or [found] traveling      unaccompanied by a mahram, were subjected to beating and verbal abuse.  8) Whipping of women in public for having non-covered ankles.  9) Public stoning of women accused of having sex outside marriage. 10) Ban on the use of cosmetics.  (Many women with painted nails       have had their 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 at  public gatherings,  on radio,  or on television. 16) Ban on women  playing  sports, or  even entering a sports centre or club. 17) Ban on women riding bicycles or motorcycles,  even with their mahrams. 18) Ban on women wearing brightly colored clothes.  In Taliban terms,       these  were  '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 in public places, or next to rivers. 21) Modification of all place names which included 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 that women cannot 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 traveling on the same bus. Public buses were       designated  'males only',  or  'females only'. 27) Ban on flared pants, 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. Apart  from  the  above  restrictions  on  women,  the Taliban  [more generally]:  1) Banned listening to music, not only for women, but men as well.  2) Banned the watching of movies, television and videos, for everyone.  3) Banned celebrating the traditional  New Year  (Nowroz)  on  21 March.  4) Banned the  keeping of  pigeons, and  playing  with these birds,      describing  [the  pastime]  as  'un-Islamic'.  5) Banned the pastime of kite-flying.  6) Could choose to execute anyone who carried  'objectionable'  literature.  7) Forced boy students to wear turbans: 'No turban, no education'.  8) Forced non-Muslim minorities to wear a distinct badge, or yellow cloth.  9) Banned the use of the internet by both ordinary Afghans and foreigners.