Learning, driving: Taliban strips away rights of Afghan women one at a time

Taliban, the
militant Islamic group who seized control of Afghanistan as US forces departed
in August 2021, have decided to stop issuing driving licenses to women,
according to a report by news agency ANI. This makes Afghanistan the only
country in the world to not issue driving licenses to women. Prior to this,
Saudi Arabia was the only country that did not issue driving licenses to women,
but that changed in 2018 via a decree allowing women to drive.

Before Taliban wrested
Afghanistan from the civilian government, women could be seen driving in Kabul
and other cities of the war-torn country. Now, stuck in a devastating
humanitarian crisis, facing acute shortage of food and other essential supplies,
Afghan women have also lost the ability to drive.

Also Read | Taliban government stops issuing driving licence to women in Afghanistan: Reports

But the loss of
the legal right to drive wasn’t the first right they lost when the Taliban
returned to power after 20 years of a US-backed civilian government staying at
the helm of affairs. The first right to go was that of education. Just as the
Taliban regime took control of Afghan affairs, girls were no longer allowed to
go to school.

Subsequently, the Ministry
of Education decided to reopen girls’ high schools for a while and then reneged
on the promise within hours. This sequence of events in March left many girls
heartbroken about their future in Afghanistan.

Also Read | Afghanistan women attempts to defend right to drive as Taliban curb licences

“Education was the
only way to give us some hope in these times of despair, and it was the only
right we hoped for, and it has been taken away,” Zahra Rohani, a 15-year-old
Afghan girl told the New York Times at the time.

The decision to
outlaw girls’ education came at a cost to Taliban. The militant Islamists had queued
up for aid from various international agencies and nations. But the ban on
women’s education hurt their prospects to secure that aid and provide a fillip
to Afghanistan’s economy.