Afghan women face a reality without rights
On Aug. 15, 2021 the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan after fighting the United States for 20 years. Five years later, Afghan women (25.1 million people) have had all their rights ripped from them due to the Taliban Sharia law interpretation enforced by the new government from the Islamic religion.
“Islam borrows from the Christian worldview in many ways because it was created in the traditions of the Bible, but it adds additional things that contradict the Bible,” Dean of Spiritual Development and Assistant Upper School Principal Dr. Faulk said. “For Islam, later revelation is considered more authoritative, so the evil things that the Quran says end up trumping the things that the Bible says.”
As a woman living in the United States, when I discovered the horrors the women face in Afghanistan, I was crushed. I wondered how a person could be treated so horribly.
According to Congress.gov, this is what their everyday restrictions look like: Outside of their home women and girls have to wear full veils or burkas from head to toe, covering their face and head. All female-owned businesses have been shut down and are prohibited from operating. After elementary school, girls' schooling is prohibited and lately, they cannot get professional jobs. Even more horrifying, they are unable to be nurses, midwives, or doctors and because there are no female doctors, women in most cases cannot get medical care. This is due to strict regulations regarding women being treated by men. Women cannot go in public without a male chaperone, they are banned from places such as gyms, parks, stores, bathrooms, etc., they no longer have the right to drive or have a license, they are banned from showing their face or broadcasting their voice in public or on the tv and they cannot speak out against abuse because the law states men have all legal authority over women in the household.
For Afghan women, it is not just their rights being taken away, but their whole lives. The Islamic theocracy that rules Afghanistan uses these rules and regulations regarding women as a control mechanism, oppressing over half the population. Not only do their stories speak of unimaginable suffering, but they also show how blessed American women are to have equal freedoms that can easily be taken for granted.
“All that can really be done now is to raise awareness, and speak out against it,” Dr. Faulk said. Remind people of the hope that is offered from a biblical worldview for women as made in God’s image and united as one male and female in Christ.”
In as quick as five years, Afghan women and girls’ social, professional and political freedoms were taken from them, keeping them stuck without a voice. Dehumanization of any person is sick and demonic, proving the devastating consequences that occur when God’s word is taken out of the picture and replaced by a false god and false teaching.
“The books of the Bible are nearly always ahead of the curve on caring for women and treating them with dignity and respect in contrast to the cultures the Bible was writing to,” Dr. Faulk said. It grants women equal status with men as made in God’s image which is the foundation for human rights.”
Although the situation in Afghanistan seems distant to Americans, the suffering of these women is not something that should be ignored simply because it is happening thousands of miles away. Their stories serve as a reminder of how easily freedoms can be stripped from people who are silenced and denied the ability to stand up for themselves.
It is easy to become numb to things simply because we don’t see them, so raising awareness is an important change as it brings people at least emotionally closer to what is happening and inspires them to impact the culture,” Dr. Faulk said.
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