“Fighting is the Cure for Pain”: Women’s Rights in Afghanistan Two Years after the Taliban Take-Over

This seminar is held by Samia Walid, sociologist and women’s rights activist, who will speak about gender-based violence and women’s resistance in Afghanistan. The presentation traces the fight of women in Afghanistan against patriarchal and fundamentalist violence, particularly emphasizing the period since the Taliban take-over in August 2021 and the forms of resistance of Afghan women.

Abstract

After the April 27, 1978 coup, Afghanistan has become the most insecure country in the world. The former Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan and established a puppet government in our country. The USA and the West also got involved and supported Islamic groups to fight against their opponents. The virus of Islamic fundamentalism spread in our country at that time and continues to take victims from our people. Jihadists, Taliban and ISIS are all products of wrong policies, rivalries of big powers, and the power of guns that rule our country.

Afghan women are the ones who have made the most sacrifices for war and Islamic fundamentalism rule in Afghanistan. Today, in the 21st century, Afghan women are fighting hard for their basic rights. Today, teaching and learning science for women in Afghanistan is a crime for which they face severe punishment.

But some women accept these risks and fight because they know that fighting is the cure for pain.This presentation traces the fight of women in Afghanistan against patriarchal and fundamentalist violence, particularly emphasizing the period since the Taliban take-over in August 2021 and the forms of resistance of Afghan women.

The seminar is organised together with Peace and International Politics Research Group. 

Priscyll Anctil, a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Political Science, recently published a blog post about the human rights violations, especially against women, in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power two years ago. The blog post is available here: Blog post by Priscyll Anctil: “Taliban Takeover - 2 Years On”