Taliban bans women’s books and human rights studies

Silencing history

Back then, women writers in Afghanistan were quite consistent in showing the female characters of their works defying both war and male domination. These females were bravely unique like Nadia Anjuman, violently killed by her husband in 2005, or Niloofar Rahmani, the first female pilot of the Afghan air force. Now, works like theirs risk being buried in the shadows.

‘Given the Taliban’s misogynistic mindset and policies, it is only natural that when women themselves are not allowed to study, their views, ideas and writings are also suppressed,’ said Zakia Adeli, the former deputy minister of justice while speaking to the BBC.

For young women who once dreamed of studying medicine, law, or literature, the bans represent more than barriers, they are broken futures. Families who had saved to send daughters to university now face the painful choice of exile or surrender to silence.

International condemnation has been swift, but action remains limited. The UN has repeatedly called Afghanistan the ‘most repressive country in the world for women,’ yet diplomatic channels struggle to reach the women most affected.

Meanwhile, Afghan girls continue to study in secret. Underground schools and book clubs operate in private homes, risking raids and punishment. Digital spaces, too, have become lifelines for sharing banned material and women’s writing.

Everywhere, authoritarian regimes begin their control of societies by controlling education and culture. The muzzling of Afghan women is a warning regarding how fragile rights are if left unprotected.

Yet their persistence reminds us that knowledge once in the world is tough to eradicate. Every underground class, every smuggled book, every whisper is a proclamation of hope.