From Hope to Isolation: Women Under Taliban Rule

• Interview with Najla Rahil, Lawyer and Human Rights Activist

Yasin Samim: Thank you for taking the time for this interview. Your experience as an Afghan lawyer in exile is very valuable for understanding the current situation of women in Afghanistan, especially the impact of the Taliban’s laws, regulations, and policies. What changes have you observed in the lives of girls and women compared to the Republic era?

Najla Rahil: Everyone knows the current situation. Few countries or people in the world are unaware of the dire conditions facing women and girls in Afghanistan. It is truly heartbreaking. Through my direct contact with defense lawyers and, through them, with families and relatives, the biggest issue I see is that girls and women have lost hope for better lives. They feel deep despair and helplessness. Many have lost their motivation to move forward.

In some online classes I held with girls, they repeatedly said things like, “We’re tired of living,” or “There’s no hope or drive left for us.” They feel abandoned by the world and even by their own country’s intellectual and political leaders. Even when I speak to defense lawyers and encourage them to keep studying, they say they no longer have the energy or motivation to read or write. On top of that, most are suffering from serious mental health problems that need urgent attention.

Yasin Samim: How have the Taliban’s regulations, policies, and decisions affected women’s lives? In which areas are these effects most visible? You briefly mentioned despair and lack of motivation as one outcome.

Najla Rahil: For women, two things bring power and capability: knowledge and financial income. Under the Taliban, women have been stripped of opportunities to gain education and earn money through employment.

During the Republic, most women were educated, and even those who weren’t literate often worked in public or private sectors. They could support themselves and contribute to their families’ needs, which gave them an important role in the family and society. Now, they depend completely on husbands or male relatives even for basic needs.

For example, I know a female lawyer whose eardrum was perforated. When she asked her husband for money for treatment, he couldn’t help because of the family’s poor financial situation. This has seriously affected her health. I share this example to highlight that one of the main things women have lost under the Taliban is income and job opportunities.

When a family’s finances collapse, it leads to arguments, tension, and eventually domestic violence. This can result in divorce, physical abuse, family conflicts, or even criminal cases. At the same time, the justice system is unfair and discriminatory toward women. When women go to court in such cases, they face gender bias, insulting treatment, and sometimes severe mistreatment from Taliban judicial officials.

On the other hand, social media reports of the Taliban’s harsh behavior toward female complainants have made many women prefer not to approach courts or the justice system at all.

Beyond that, the difficult financial situation has made forced marriages common in traditional families. Many families, to ease economic pressure, marry off young daughters to local Taliban commanders. When asked why, they say, “We have no money.”

One educated woman contacted me and said her family forced her into marriage with an older man. When she, aware of her legal rights, resisted, her family replied: “You’re a burden now. You can’t study, you can’t work, you can’t bring in money.” With limited income sources in families and all financial pressure falling on men, these family and social problems have emerged.

Third, the poor economic situation and severe restrictions on women’s movement and activities push women and their families to risk fleeing to neighboring countries. As we all know, life there is often even more difficult and painful. Costs of living, daily expenses, and job difficulties worsen economic problems, family disputes, and mental health risks for women and girls. In many cases, when active women or women’s rights defenders feel threatened, they pressure their husbands to leave the country. Later, in a third country facing hardship, husbands blame their wives for the decision, leading to domestic violence and severe depression. Resettlement processes are slow and can take years.

Yasin Samim: I once saw a quote: “Give me an educated mother, and I will give you an educated nation.” What is the connection between women’s education and their social participation?

Najla Rahil: There is a very strong link between participation and the spread of awareness—and the opposite is also true. When women participate socially, it creates more opportunities for other women. Participation opens doors for connection, exchange, and discussion about women’s roles in society.

For example, when women go to parks, clinics, or cultural events, they have chances to connect and learn about their basic human rights. These skills are essential for professional and social growth today. But when women are confined to the home, they can’t share their experiences or learn from others. When participation opportunities disappear, women become mentally and intellectually paralyzed and gradually lose their knowledge and expertise.

Yasin Samim: Since you, as a legal expert, spent a lot of time empowering women and handling their legal disputes during the Republic, I would like to ask some law-related questions. First, what impact have the Taliban’s decrees—especially the recently passed Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice—had on women’s and girls’ lives? What restrictions has it created on their individual and social rights and freedoms?

Najla Rahil: The new Taliban law builds on their earlier harsh and misogynistic measures and gives them official status. As a law student and women’s rights activist, I do not even consider it a proper law because law-making requires specific steps, including broad consultation with experts and the people affected. This law was drafted unilaterally based on the views of a few emirate mullahs, with no input from legal experts.

Most of the law focuses on regulating women’s personal and social lives, yet women had no role in its creation. It confuses formal and substantive law. Second, it gives enforcers such broad powers that they effectively act as prosecutor, judge, and police combined. Courts play almost no role. This creates huge potential for personal abuse. Enforcers can act according to their own preferences, prior relationships, or biases.

In a country like Afghanistan with deep family and social rivalries, an enforcer could target anyone he dislikes or has past conflicts with. Courts have become largely irrelevant.

The short-term legal impact is widespread fear that keeps women and girls from going out or participating socially. Even before the law, Taliban officials restricted and threatened people, but now these actions have official backing at a higher level. The social effects are so severe that many women cannot leave home even once a day for routine needs. I know families who, after the law passed, told their daughters never to leave the house. In short, the law forces isolation on women and treats them as second-class beings. It violates basic human and Islamic rights of women.

Yasin Samim: You mentioned the role of the enforcer. Reports say the Taliban have hired about 4,500 staff for the Ministry of Virtue and Prevention of Vice—far more than in key development ministries like rural rehabilitation or agriculture. What specific powers do enforcers have, and how can they restrict women’s rights and freedoms?

Najla Rahil: Although the law outlines three stages for enforcement, there is huge room for abuse. Three years of Taliban rule have already shown this. Imagine an enforcer with personal or ideological issues against someone—he could give verbal warnings, send notices repeatedly, then take the case to court without waiting for an explanation. Having worked in the justice system myself, I have seen plenty of such abuses.

Yasin Samim: What has been the impact on privacy?

Najla Rahil: The new Taliban laws and regulations have destroyed the principle of personal privacy and individual freedom. I have heard stories from women who were working in women-only spaces when groups of enforcers suddenly entered without permission, searched, insulted, and humiliated them.

While the Taliban forbade unrelated men from seeing women, who gave enforcers the right to enter female-only spaces? In purely female environments, women have the religious right to dress as they wish. In some cases, enforcers follow women from work to home, enter their houses, and act threateningly. After one or two such incidents, families easily decide to stop women from working in the private sector out of fear for their social honor.

Similarly, Taliban religious police enter women’s sections of wedding halls in Kabul and provinces, violating privacy. In those all-female events, women naturally dress and appear festively. No men are present, so hijab requirements do not apply. Yet enforcers not only hear women’s voices, which they claim unrelated men should not—but also enter spaces where they can see women’s faces and bodies and argue with them. Many such incidents have been shared online.

Yasin Samim: From what you have said, the new law intensifies earlier policies and disrupts women’s and girls’ personal and psychological security. In your view, how much do these Taliban policies align with Islamic Sharia and the experiences of major Muslim countries?

Najla Rahil: Afghanistan is one of the countries where mullahs misuse religion because public religious knowledge is very low. Religion has always been a tool for such figures. As someone trained in Sharia, I have seen that most Muslim countries—including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Egypt, and Turkey—have completely different practices.

During training trips to Malaysia, I saw women scholars of religion teaching us about gender equality and women’s rights. In most of these countries, women can participate equally in education, employment, and judicial roles.

The version of Islam and Sharia presented in Afghanistan is extremely misogynistic and extremist, with no historical precedent before the Taliban. Many respected religious scholars have publicly stated that the Taliban’s actions toward girls and women are not supported by Sharia.

With these policies, the Taliban have set Afghanistan back 50 years. Since taking power, they have deprived women of basic Islamic and human rights. For example, they banned girls and women from education citing “unsuitable environment,” denying generations professional growth—while Islam clearly emphasizes education for both men and women with commands like “Read,” without saying only men should read.

Yasin Samim: A few months ago, the Taliban rounded up women in various cities for “bad hijab,” mistreated them, touched their bodies, beat them, and detained them. Verified human rights reports confirm that some faced sexual assault, harassment, and abuse in detention. What is the Taliban’s religious justification for these actions?

Najla Rahil: As I said earlier, studying Islamic governments from early Islam to today shows no similar actions. In Hanafi and Jafari jurisprudence, promoting virtue and preventing vice must be done with tolerance and kindness. It has never happened that armed men violently seize a woman and imprison her for improper hijab.

The women accused of “bad hijab” were actually those who took to the streets to protest the Taliban’s restrictive and un-Islamic laws—the least they could do. Instead of listening, the Taliban responded with cruel violence, violating their privacy and human dignity.

In some cases, after release, families abandoned or divorced these women. Such actions contradict the Taliban’s own claims—they say one thing but do another, especially showing deep bias and resentment toward women. Afghan social customs set clear limits on how men (including Taliban) interact with women, yet the Taliban openly violate these limits.

Yasin Samim: Are there specific examples that show the immediate and long-term effects of these policies on women’s and families’ economic and social situation?

Najla Rahil: The effects on women’s and girls’ economic, social, and mental well-being are very clear. They face poverty, severe restrictions, and resulting psychological problems.

In the short term, many women have lost their small savings, jewelry, or cash reserves. Polygamy has sharply increased and is becoming normalized because the Taliban encourage it. Many adolescents aged 10 to 18 are exposed to Taliban ideology, and it shows in their behavior. Over the long term, this mindset will take root in social structures, including families.

The Taliban teach children and some girls their version of Islam in schools, which is dangerous for Afghanistan’s future. Islam allows polygamy only under strict conditions of justice, yet Taliban officials repeatedly marry without meeting those conditions, and ordinary men and youth follow their example. The Taliban portray active women as anti-Islamic and raise men and boys to be anti-woman.

One reported case: In the Taliban environment, any ignorant religious men—like Mullah Anabi, can issue harsh, misogynistic fatwas against women. Mullah Anabi ordered that women like Tamana Paryani should be “trampled underfoot.”

The social and economic consequences include promoting extremism, violating women’s dignity, and deepening misogyny across society—very dangerous for Afghanistan’s growth. Another outcome is turning women away from religion. When girls are denied education and face harsh treatment, some become alienated from Islam, and we have seen signs of this over the past three years.

Yasin Samim: You mentioned teenage and young men being exposed to misogynistic teachings…

Najla Rahil: Yes, in the Taliban system, all blame points to one person: the woman in the family. Their entire focus is on condemning and suppressing women. This naturally has a negative educational impact on male youth. They absorb Taliban teachings and become suspicious of their mothers and sisters. When these boys grow up and marry, their attitude toward women will be based on violence and inequality. The Taliban try to demonize women and spread their harmful ideas throughout society in a closed environment.

Yasin Samim: Where will the continuation of this situation lead society?

Najla Rahil: First, if these policies continue, both women and men will suffer poor mental and physical health. Restrictions harm women’s mental health and self-confidence. Men also lose trust in their female family members due to the pressure women face and develop mental health issues. Studies show Afghans are experiencing premature aging.

Second, we will fall behind in knowledge and development. Taliban policies push women back to the model of underdeveloped people from thousands of years ago. Women who could have been educated and raised healthy children for society have lost that chance. Children raised under Taliban education and ideology will lack psychological and ideological balance—they will be anti-woman, anti-progress, and against moderate Islamic values.

Third, continuing these policies will normalize the Taliban’s ideology of inequality. Gradually, women will grow accustomed to restrictions, and their fighting spirit will weaken. “Normalization” of the current situation is a major sign of backwardness—like stagnant water that eventually rots. Without education, activity, and employment, women and girls will become weak and ineffective in society.

Yasin Samim: What will be the generational impact on a country’s human capital?

Najla Rahil: The impact on human capital is irreversible. That is why many families who can leave Afghanistan are migrating. When asked why—even if they feel no direct security threat—they usually say, “For our children’s future.” These anti-woman and un-Islamic policies are driving away intellectual and skilled people at a rapid pace.

Most Afghans cannot leave and must struggle with severe problems we have already discussed. They are gradually losing basic rights. A female lawyer who once advised people or worked daily with laws is now losing her expertise.

Even those who left the country are forced away from their professions. If they ever return, they may no longer have the ability to help. The generation that emerged after the fall was over 70 percent educated and professional. Even if a democratic government returns someday, many will be at retirement age.

In short, the Taliban’s restrictive and anti-woman policies have created a massive capacity gap. Millions inside the country are denied education and professional training, and roughly six million have been forced to flee.

I would also like to highlight a specific issue for women. Women have unique physical, emotional, and psychological needs. Society needs female professionals—from teachers to doctors to judges—to provide services effectively. A female judge, for example, can better understand a woman suffering domestic violence, forced remarriage of her husband, or denial of basic rights. A male judge can easily dismiss a woman’s case and side with the man, especially since Taliban-appointed judges often lack training in legal procedures.

Without female doctors, women face barriers to healthcare, especially for women-specific conditions they can only discuss comfortably with another woman. The same applies to female lawyers helping women access justice. When women are excluded from education, planning, and public service delivery, development in Afghanistan faces serious obstacles. This is a well-established fact worldwide.

Yasin Samim: I recently read a report about the Taliban rejecting a woman’s divorce request in a provincial court and treating her harshly. As a defense lawyer in contact with female colleagues in Afghanistan, can you explain how women access justice under Taliban laws and policies? How are women treated in courts, and on what legal sources do the Taliban base their decisions?

Najla Rahil: From information shared by colleagues, previous laws like the Republic-era penal and civil codes are suspended. Taliban judges decide cases based on Hanafi jurisprudence, but many lack proper knowledge even of religious texts and rule according to personal understanding.

For example, the Republic’s constitution stated that if something was not covered in civil law, Hanafi fiqh should be consulted. One unclear issue was “running away from home,” which was not defined in law. We female lawyers would ask judges punishing women for fleeing violence to show the clear religious text supporting their ruling. They rarely had a direct answer.

Now, many Taliban decisions lack clear sources. While a judge may be trained in Sharia, he often does not know codified civil law or proper legal procedures. Codified laws make it easy to find relevant provisions; searching religious texts is far more difficult. Interpretations of hadith also vary, and each mullah interprets according to his own school.

In short, sometimes they cite a religious text, but mostly the judge’s personal view prevails.

Women face severe barriers to justice. Out of fear of the Taliban’s anti-woman policies, they rarely go to court. When a couple seeks divorce, judges almost always rule in favor of the man. I know of a case where a male court president pulled a woman out of the courtroom and coached the husband on what legal or religious terms to use to win.

Yasin Samim: You said courts now rely on Hanafi fiqh. Previously, for Shia personal status issues, Shia law could be applied. What problems do Taliban laws create for Shia followers?

Najla Rahil: The Taliban have abolished the Shia Personal Status Law and declared it invalid in courts. Yet Shia and Sunni rulings differ significantly on issues like waiting periods, custody, nursing, and inheritance. In some cases, Shia law offers more relief to affected women.

Even during the Republic, justice was not always upheld in mixed Sunni-Shia cases, and appeals were often denied in favor of Hanafi rulings.

Yasin Samim: What consequences will these actions have for the Taliban? Is it possible to hold them accountable under international legal frameworks, given that their actions contradict both Sharia and international law?

Najla Rahil: Yes, legally, pressure can be applied. One key point is Afghanistan’s prior ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women—the Taliban must be held accountable for violating it.

Second, advocacy by lawyers and activists to recognize “gender apartheid” is ongoing but not yet concluded. Unfortunately, recent focus on pursuing human rights violations through the International Court of Justice has overshadowed gender apartheid efforts. When asked why the International Court of Justice does not act under its statute—which allows it to investigate severe women’s rights violations unilaterally or upon complaint from states, even without the accused country’s cooperation—there is no clear answer.

In practice, United Nations actions remain largely rhetorical. There is no real will to punish the Taliban; the United Nations even hosts conferences for them and allows their travel, which emboldens them. Countries involved act according to their own interests, not showing serious commitment to accountability.

Yasin Samim: How effective have global processes to hold the Taliban accountable been so far? What challenges exist?

Najla Rahil: A major flaw is that ordinary Afghans, especially women, are excluded. For example, at the Doha conference, when the Taliban refused to negotiate, the international community and United Nations ignored civil society and women’s rights activists and prioritized Taliban presence.

International bodies do not strongly support women’s voices, and countries engage with the Taliban based on their own interests. Women and other marginalized groups are kept out of consultation and decision-making. Only a few former Republic-era figures connected to non-governmental organizations are sometimes consulted.

Yasin Samim: To wrap up, how effective have the advocacy efforts by national and international human rights bodies for women and girls been so far? Second, what should these bodies do to make advocacy and women’s empowerment more impactful?

Najla Rahil: In my personal view, the advocacy by women’s movements and national and international organizations over the past three years has been very effective. Without it, the Taliban would likely have been recognized by now. Thanks to sustained global awareness-raising, people in many countries understand the human rights situation in Afghanistan, especially for women.

However, political interests prevent a unified international policy toward the Taliban.

For the second part, a few key points:

First, empowerment programs should be designed based on the actual needs and priorities of women and girls inside Afghanistan, not dictated by donors.

Second, direct contact should be established with primary victims of human rights violations, and cases should be thoroughly and accurately documented.

Third, international bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Council and Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett should follow up with the Security Council and involved countries, asking what concrete actions have been taken on reported widespread violations.

Fourth, the United Nations political mission in Afghanistan is currently failing to uphold its mandate on women’s rights. There is serious criticism of its performance—it does not defend affected people, operates under Taliban rules, and sometimes justifies Taliban policies. National and international rights groups should jointly advocate to push the mission and relevant United Nations bodies to fulfill their duties toward women, ethnic minorities, and marginalized communities.

Yasin Samim: Thank you very much for your time and for this conversation.

Note For the Readers

This interview comes from a 2024 series of discussions. Yasin Samim, a founding member of the Forward Together Development Network (FTD-N) conducted the interviews with experts on human rights, Islamic studies, and women's rights. The aim was to document and highlight the Taliban's harmful policies toward women.

The interviews were published in Dari and Pashto on the website of Etilaatroz Daily, an independent news outlet now operating in exile.

We thank Etilaatroz for their partnership. We now publish them in a shorter version in English to reach English-speaking readers and activists. The situation remains severe and has not improved since these interviews were conducted.