One example I have seen recently of systemic injustice is in Afghanistan where the Taliban government has told women to stay home from school and work. About two months ago, the Taliban seized control of the Afghanistan country’s government. The Taliban had initially stated they would not implement many of the same harsh restrictions towards women as they did when they seized the government after the September 11th attacks. That statement did not hold true for long, as the Taliban recently began implementing many of those same restrictions towards women as they did in 2001.
This can easily relate to one topic we’ve discussed this semester in the “Subaltern”. The women of Afghanistan are being oppressed by the Taliban, and slowly becoming less and less apart of society due to restrictions put upon them. They are slowly becoming the Subaltern of society. This is very dangerous for Afghanistan women all over the country. It is diminishing the rights that many Afghani women had fought for over the past twenty plus years. “Hundreds of thousands have entered the workforce — a necessity in some cases as many women were widowed or now support invalid husbands as a result of two decades of conflict” (CBS News). Many women in Afghanistan are now at the mercy of the Taliban who are not shy in pronouncing their belittlement of women with their society. This can also put an impact on many future girls as well because not only are the women who worked for freedom being oppressed, but also the future women of Afghanistan. They are not being allowed to learn, which in the eyes of the Taliban give them even more control over women because they can tell them what to do since they “haven’t learned anything yet”.
This type of event is really telling of much of our society across the world, and how many of these fights or struggles for women to gain power is not just prevalent in Afghanistan. For example, many women in the United States are fighting for equal pay, including the United States women’s national soccer team. This has been an ongoing battle for many years. It indicates how much women still have to continue to fight for equal rights in certain aspects across the world. This is absolutely something I feel needs to be addressed not only to help the women of Afghanistan, but also women here in the United States.
Below is a link to the article as well as a link to a CBS News interview with Malala Yousafzai and about what she believes the future of Afghanistan for women will look like. It’s a very interesting watch that I would recommend taking the time to watch.
Link to the Article: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-taliban-women-girls-work-school-sharia-rules/
Malala Yousafzai Interview: http://<iframe src=”https://www.cbsnews.com/video/extended-interview-malala-yousafzai-on-the-future-of-women-under-taliban-rule/” id=”cbsNewsVideo” allowfullscreen allow=”fullscreen” frameborder=”0″ width=”620″ height=”349″></iframe>
