Afghan women stuck between modernity and conservatism for decades

- Hasmukh Gajjar

- At one time, like any other progressive country in Europe, women walked the streets of Kabul wearing shorts. Women were recruited in Science, Medicine and Civil Service

After the attack on the World Trade Center, US and allied forces camped in Afghanistan in 2001 to teach the Taliban a lesson. As the US military retreats after 20 years, the Taliban are gaining momentum. Afghanistan has 3% rural area over which the Taliban are tightening their grip. The UN has also expressed concern about the Taliban's nefarious intentions to rule. In areas under its control, the Taliban are ordering women to abide by Sharia law, starting with the burqa.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world where women have been fighting for their dignity and rights for the last 150 years. The women of Afghanistan are in great pain of political and social ups and downs. The Taliban's ideology has been tainted with arbitrary interpretations of Islam, but at one time, like any other European country, women in Afghanistan could go out in public wearing their favorite shorts.

Understanding how political, social, and religious policies affect people's lives is like looking at Afghanistan's 150-year history. The credit for the birth of modern Afghanistan goes to Abdul Rahman Khan. In 19, Rahman Khan considered Afghan women as equal partners in the wealth of father and husband. The practice of child marriage, dowry and polygamy was declared invalid. The practice of forcing a woman to marry a close relative of her deceased husband was abolished. Women were allowed to ride horses in European attire.

Rahman Khan's queen Boboja even gave military training to her maids. Abdul Rahman was succeeded by his son Amir Habibullah Khan, who opened English medium schools and colleges in 1907 and raised liberalism through education. Excessive expenses incurred in marriage and dowry were banned. Conservatives were offended by the policy of interfering in social matters such as marriage and giving women rights. Habibullah's son Amanullah was sitting on the throne when Habibullah was killed. In terms of giving rights to women, Amanullah was four times better than his grandfather and father. It connected not only the streets of Kabul but also the tribal women living in the mountains.

Amanullah Khan's queen Soraya was so modern that at a political ceremony the wives of the courtiers tore their veils. There are many rulers in Afghanistan but Soria is considered to be the most powerful Afghan woman. Amanullah's sister Cobra opened an organization called Anjuman a Himayat a Niswan and built a hospital for women in Kabul. Twelve of the 12 Afghan girls were sent to Turkey for higher education.

Amanullah Khan and Soreya had traveled extensively in Turkey and Europe, and were obsessed with the Western world over women's rights. Amanullah also had to follow in Paroth's footsteps as protests against women's emancipation policies erupted. Finally, in 18, Amanullah himself was forced to leave the country. Amanullah was probably far ahead of time in terms of social reforms. In 18th, Nadir Shah emphasized on women's education but his assassination brought an end to his rule.

The era of modernization of Afghanistan began in 190 AD. Historical experiences were not good, so the then Prime Minister Mohammed Dawood volunteered to wear the veil or not, but women were encouraged to advance in the health and education sectors. The life of Afghan women was very glamorous in the 180's. At one time there were Gurvi fashion shows.

Under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, women were given a place in education and politics. The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) formed a socialist organization backed by the Soviet Union. According to one source, 5,000 women were enrolled in higher education institutions in Afghanistan in the 1980s. 2.50 lakh girls were studying in nearby schools.

There were 150 women professors and 4,000 women teachers. Women were also recruited in Science, Medicine and Civil Service. Although girls were getting married at an early age, they were rapidly entering the male-dominated field. Afghan boys and girls roamed the theater and university together.

In the 19th century, the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan by the USSR lasted for a decade. With the help and support of the United States, Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, the radical Mujahideen fought against the Russian forces. The mujahideen feared that Afghanistan's traditional culture was in danger. In the 19th century, the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan, but the Mujahideen, with a strong army, captured Kabul and declared it an Islamic state. The civil war against Taliban leader Gulbuddin Hikmatyar Najibullah began. Hundreds of women were abducted, raped and murdered in a four-year class war.

Eventually the Taliban marched on Kabul in which most of the Taliban leaders, including Mullah Omar, were poor villagers educated in neighboring Wahhabi schools. Before the Taliban regime, a large number of women were in charge of education. The ban on women's employment began to have an adverse effect on children's education. Mandatory burqa for women was implemented. Al Qaeda commanders kidnapped hundreds of women under the human trafficking network and sold them into prostitution and slavery in Pakistan.

The only way for women to escape the atrocities of the Taliban was to go into hiding. Jigarbaaz educated women ran schools in a secret place amidst the fear of the Taliban and taught subjects like biology, chemistry, English, theology, horticulture, sewing and weaving. The Taliban tortured several women who were caught teaching.

In 2001, the United States overthrew the Taliban government in Afghanistan. A government in the form of Hamid Karzai was established by the UN. Karzai has been President of Afghanistan for 13 years and Asraf Ghani is in power. In Afghanistan, which has a total population of 4.5 crore, examples of women's rights have been set. For example, in 2016, Nilofar Rahmani became the first woman pilot in the Afghan Air Force's pilot training program. In 2013, 18-year-old Nejin Khololwak became Afghanistan's first female music conductor.

In 2012, the first marathon was held in Afghanistan in which Janeb, 3 years old, became the first Afghan woman to run. Afghan women are also members of parliament and ministers in government. Afghan women compete in a variety of sports, including football and basketball. The woman is also the mayor and has also become a brigadier. The situation of Afghan women has improved in urban areas but the ghost of the Taliban has re-emerged in rural areas.

The country whose rulers spoke of women's equality and rights 150 years ago is still considered the most insecure for women in the world. The ambitions of Afghanistan's ethnic groups and the narrow interpretation of Islam have created a distorted culture. As the US Army withdraws from Afghanistan, it is certain that women will be the biggest victims of the Taliban's growing fear and chaos.