Education Ban, Public Stoning: 10 Times Taliban Policies Targeted Women

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's Friday press conference in New Delhi had no female journalists, and the Taliban government's decision not to extend an invite came under much criticism. Apart from journalists and people on social media, opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mahua Moitra, called it "unacceptable" and an "insult to women."

In response to the backlash, Muttaqi held a follow-up press conference on Sunday in New Delhi, this time inviting both male and female journalists. Speaking at the event, he described the previous exclusion as a "technical issue" and said that there was no deliberate attempt to bar women from attending.

10 times Taliban ran into controversy over women rights:

Education Bans For Women

Since the Taliban's return to power in 2021, they have prohibited girls from attending secondary schools and universities. This year, they cancelled 18 university courses related to women's studies, including subjects like sexual harassment and gender development. They also banned course books written by women.

Public Stoning

In March 2024, the Taliban's supreme leader announced the reinstatement of flogging and death by stoning for women accused of adultery.

Crackdown On Women's Employment

In 2023, the Taliban ordered the closure of all beauty salons, resulting in the loss of approximately 60,000 women's jobs. Female employees in the finance ministry were advised to find male relatives to replace them to facilitate their dismissal.

Restrictions On Women's Travel

In 2022, the Taliban mandated all women to have a male guardian (mahram) when travelling and must cover themselves entirely in public, including their faces. The Taliban have also detained women and girls accused of not wearing the "proper hijab".

Crackdown On Women's Protests

In September 2021, women in Herat and Kabul held protests demanding inclusion in the Taliban government and the right to work. The Taliban responded with violence, using tear gas, whipping, and live ammunition to disperse the crowds. Women who protest face surveillance, harassment, beatings, arbitrary detention, torture, and they later disappear. 

Assassination Of A Female Politician

Mursal Nabizada, a former member of parliament, was shot dead in January 2023. Her murder was the first killing of a parliamentarian since the Taliban's takeover. She had been a vocal critic of the regime and had received a humanitarian visa to leave Afghanistan but chose to stay in protest.

Internet And Social Media Restrictions

In September 2025, the Taliban imposed a 48-hour nationwide internet blackout, coinciding with a morality campaign. While internet access was mostly restored, access to major platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat remained restricted.

Women Must Accept "Man's World"

In 2023, the Taliban said that men and women were not equal under Sharia law, claiming that men are rulers and women must accept a male-dominated world.

Women Banned From Speaking

In 2024, the Taliban prohibited women from singing or speaking in public.

Taliban Bans Women From Hearing Each Other

The Taliban, in 2024, issued a new decree banning women from hearing each other's voices during prayers. Adult women are forbidden from performing prayers or reciting the Quran aloud if other women can hear them.

The United Nations Human Rights Council recently established an independent investigative mechanism to monitor human rights violations in Afghanistan, focusing on abuses against women and girls.