Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.ft.com/content/acb69a3a-51ee-4484-8dad-e04b2c711f89
‘No guarantee for our security’: Afghan women fear the worst under Taliban rule
Concern grows that two decades of educational, social and political rights are about to be curtailed
Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran August 16 2021
Shortly after her 12th birthday, Ameneh — not her real name — was forced to get engaged to her adult, bearded cousin and move into the house of her uncle, a businessman who traded with the Taliban.
That was two decades ago. Back then, the Islamist movement was at the height of its power, controlling Afghanistan through fear and intimidation, while enforcing strict religious rule that meant women rarely ventured outside — if they did they had to be covered from head to toe in a burka and accompanied by a male relative. Young girls such as Ameneh were prevented from attending normal schools, and instead pushed into arranged marriages.
But after the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the teenager discovered a freedom that would have been unimaginable. Emboldened by the Taliban’s loss of power, she fled the home of her uncle, who was the family’s patriarch after the death of her father years earlier, and tossed off her burka. With her mother’s support, she went to a civil court and annulled her engagement. She went to school, worked in business and human rights, chose to remain single and enjoyed an active social life.
Today, Ameneh says her childhood nightmares have returned now the Taliban is back in power after a week-long blitz by its forces across the country...
‘No guarantee for our security’: Afghan women fear the worst under Taliban rule
Concern grows that two decades of educational, social and political rights are about to be curtailed
Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran August 16 2021
Shortly after her 12th birthday, Ameneh — not her real name — was forced to get engaged to her adult, bearded cousin and move into the house of her uncle, a businessman who traded with the Taliban.
That was two decades ago. Back then, the Islamist movement was at the height of its power, controlling Afghanistan through fear and intimidation, while enforcing strict religious rule that meant women rarely ventured outside — if they did they had to be covered from head to toe in a burka and accompanied by a male relative. Young girls such as Ameneh were prevented from attending normal schools, and instead pushed into arranged marriages.
But after the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the teenager discovered a freedom that would have been unimaginable. Emboldened by the Taliban’s loss of power, she fled the home of her uncle, who was the family’s patriarch after the death of her father years earlier, and tossed off her burka. With her mother’s support, she went to a civil court and annulled her engagement. She went to school, worked in business and human rights, chose to remain single and enjoyed an active social life.
Today, Ameneh says her childhood nightmares have returned now the Taliban is back in power after a week-long blitz by its forces across the country...
