The Hidden Women

by Keiyana Christie, 10A

“If there’s no peace in Afghanistan, it’s women who will suffer most.” When the Taliban took Afghan under their control, they took with them the rights for every woman, and the happiness that came with them. Even in other places of the world, women lose their rights to work, be happy, and live the life that they have planned for themselves; but that doesn't mean it's okay. It means it's time to put the human rights violation to an end.

In Afghanistan today, almost all the women have become unemployed since the Taliban took control. Laws restrict them from doing certain things without having their husband’s approval, and not abiding by the rules may result in the execution of an Afghan woman. Some women believe so strongly in their rights that they’ve sacrificed their life in the hopes that their friends, family, and children may have freedom in the future.  

One Afghan woman, Seeta, showed her pain through a poem about how she feels hidden under the Taliban. She must wear a burqa (a piece of cloth covering the face and only shows

(Source: cbsnew.com)

the eyes) because those are the requirements given by the Taliban. In a part of her poem she says, "Foreign women come to see us,

under burqa, take our picture—

we are interesting, novel for them.

They don’t understand

our burqas are jail and safety made of fabric.

We are hidden beneath blue cloth,

confined, yet secure."

A piece of cloth alone makes these women feel like they are trapped in a jail cell, and the only way out is to put their entire life at risk. At the same time, they are forced to feel a sense of security because they know if they don't wear this blue piece of cloth, they will be viewed as an outsider, and be executed without any mercy.

(indianexpress.com)

The number of women and children affected by the Taliban grows higher and higher each day. Every year, 309,000 children under the age of five die from malnutrition, and over 90 percent of girls are banned from having an education. Women are not allowed to wear jewelry, paint their nails, cut their hair, or do other things that any average woman would do. One Taliban man said, "There are only two places for Afghan women - in her husband's house, and in the graveyard." These are the things that the women must live by everyday.

So it's clear that the women of Afghanistan are living in a world of darkness everyday, and to make it worse, they must watch their children experience the sadness too. As humans, it's only right that we take action and help to change the lives of these women and children. More importantly, women must understand that this is a serious situation, and that it could've been one of us. We may not be able to stop the Taliban tomorrow, but we can definitely make a change over the course of time.