The Wilson Center Stands on the Side of Afghan Women and Girls
![In this Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016 photo, young girls walk towards their school, in Wakhan, Badakhshan province, far northeastern Afghanistan.](/sites/default/files/styles/embed_text_block/public/media/uploads/images/AP_Afghangirlswalking.jpg)
Massoud Hossaini/AP
This weekend, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice ordered a decree that all women leaving their homes must wear a head-to-toe covering and be accompanied by a male guardian. The new rules state that women must cover their faces and ideally women will wear a traditional burqa. In many cities, women choose to wear a hijab to cover their hair—this is no longer acceptable modesty.
This new decree is the most recent example of systemic oppression of Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule. The decree further details restrictions and punishments that both women and their family members will face if women are seen in public uncovered. The latest restrictions are part of a larger effort to roll back decades of advancements for women in the country. When they seized power in August 2021, the Taliban claimed they would respect women and girls’ rights to a public life, but since then, they’ve taken away their right to travel unaccompanied, work outside of the healthcare space, and have an education.
This decision serves to further undermine Afghan women and girls’ rights and livelihoods. Afghan women and girls deserve agency and equality and the Taliban government must protect and preserve their rights. The Wilson Center stands on the side of Afghan women and girls.
Related Programs
Indo-Pacific Program
The Indo-Pacific Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on US interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the world’s most populous and economically dynamic region. Read more
Maternal Health Initiative
The Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative (MHI) is dedicated to improving the lives of women, adolescents, and children around the world. MHI convenes experts from around the world to discuss solutions to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths and to navigate gender-based global health issues and their links to foreign policy. MHI explores a wide range of policy-related topics, including gender equity, global health, health care workforce and systems, caregiving, gender-based violence, workforce participation, girls’ education, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. MHI is globally focused with additional attention to women and girls living in humanitarian settings. Read more
Middle East Program
The Wilson Center’s Middle East Program serves as a crucial resource for the policymaking community and beyond, providing analyses and research that helps inform US foreign policymaking, stimulates public debate, and expands knowledge about issues in the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Read more
Middle East Women's Initiative
The Middle East Women's Initiative (MEWI) promotes the empowerment of women in the region through an open and inclusive dialogue with women leaders from the Middle East and continuous research. Read more