As a Muslim woman, I am compelled by my faith to speak out. My voice is not to overshadow Afghan women, who continue to resist against impossible odds. Instead, I write as a sister in faith, calling on the principles that bind all Muslims to justice and dignity.
Islam is a religion rooted in equality and the elevation of human worth. From the very beginning, the Prophet Mohammed ensured that women were given rights to education, autonomy and respect – revolutionary in his time. Yet, it is painful to watch the Taliban’s actions because they stand in stark contradiction to these principles. Denying women education, confining them to their homes and silencing their voices does not embody the values of Islam. It is oppression.
Education in the Islamic worldview, as the Taliban know, encompasses all knowledge, whether religious or secular. Knowledge and education of all kinds is the absolute right of everyone regardless of their age and background, whether they are male or female.
We are women who play an active role in the public space, whose presence, strength knowledge and – yes, voices – revolutionised the place of women in society. We are the people of Fatima, Khadija, Aisha, Nusaiba, Zainab and so many more. Women who were central to society and whose status is considered far higher than our own.
The Taliban may argue that Afghanistan faces a state of emergency and that sacrifices are necessary. However, by marginalising half the population, the crisis is not alleviated – it is deepened. No society can progress while keeping women shackled; women are the foundation of families, communities and economies. Suppressing them is suppressing a nation’s future.
The Taliban’s’ treatment of women also reverberates far beyond Afghanistan. It entrenches harmful stereotypes about Islam, reinforcing the perception that our faith oppresses women. This affects Muslim communities worldwide, leading to Islamophobia, discrimination and even violence.
It is no secret that the West has weaponised the rhetoric of "saving Muslim women" to justify its own imperial ambitions. Many of those who now condemn Taliban actions were once complicit in bombing the very communities they claim to protect. This hypocrisy does not absolve Afghanistan’s current rulers. Oppression from others does not grant the Taliban the right to oppress their own.
Cultural change may be slow, but what we can do is look at the trajectory of women’s rights under Taliban governance, and it is sadly not one of progress – it is of regression. The Afghan government may dismiss my words by saying I am not Afghan, that I do not understand their culture, their wars or their challenges. All of that is true. But what is also true is that justice transcends borders. Islam compels me to stand for what is right, to speak when others are silenced and to challenge actions that contradict the teachings of our faith.
While justice and Islamic values are at the core of this appeal, consider a different motive: negative perceptions of a nation create a notable economic loss. Countries in Africa know this too well and a study released in October has even calculated the “prejudice premium” that such negative stereotypes bring: a cost of $4.2 billion each year.
Although I am heartbroken as well as angry about the way women are being treated as less than human in Afghanistan, the desire to have their humanity, rights, freedom and justice restored is part of the love and hope to also see Afghanistan as a whole restored and flourishing.
It saddens me that many Muslims and in particular Muslim women feel so despondent about the situation of women under Taliban governance that they feel there is no point in even saying anything. This suggests that people do not perceive you as being open to change, nor as those who govern while listening to the people. Again, these contravene the principles of Islamic governance as well as overall effective leadership.
In fact, if we are speaking up for women around the world – in countries such as Palestine, Sudan, Kashmir and Myanmar – it is important for us, as Muslims, to tell the Taliban that these restrictions are unjust.
It would have been easy to write this in rage, an explosive anger at the reduction of women to ghosts that carry out the hard work of running the homes and families of the country. This work is fundamental to a family oriented vision of an Islamic country that allows individuals as well as society to flourish. This deserves to be honoured, not erased.
But there is already too much rage around us. So, I write instead in the hope of change. After all, as Muslims, we are encouraged to always be optimistic and work together for improvement. But yet, who am I, a mere woman, that the Taliban will listen to me? I am writing because of the principles my father – a Muslim man – taught me.
It is he who constantly said that where something is wrong, we must speak up, so that it is clear what must be changed. And if those people won’t listen – which I fear the Taliban may not – as a Muslim, a human being, a person seeking justice, you must say it anyway so that people should know. So, I’m writing in the words of a Muslim man, that the Taliban should know that this is wrong and unjust on a universal level, and in opposition to Islamic principles. I remain positive that they may change.
As the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, reminded us: “The best of you are those who are best to their women.” So, how will history remember the Taliban? As the defenders of faith or the silencers of women?
I urge the Taliban to reflect on their actions – not for me, but for the women the group has silenced, the generations they are holding back, the oppression and injustice they are perpetuating, and for which there will be an accounting, and for perpetuating this incredible harm in the name of the Islam Afghanistan’s current rulers claim to represent.
