A motorized rickshaw driver from Herat in western Afghanistan, named Fereydun, has stopped transporting women due to the Taliban's oppressive restrictions on their rights, as well as many other drivers, DW reports.
The man revealed that carrying women who do not wear a full-body covering would lead to severe consequences, including being beaten up by the Taliban and having his rickshaw confiscated. Fereydun recounted witnessing women being humiliated by the Taliban, who stopped his vehicle several times and forcibly pulled out women not wearing burqas, subjecting them to verbal abuse and mistreatment.
This crackdown on women's rights has persisted for almost two years since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan following NATO's withdrawal. Despite the group's initial promise to respect women's rights, Afghan women continue to resist oppressive orders. Many refuse to wear burqas and opt to walk the streets with their faces uncovered, defying the Taliban's attempts to suppress them.
Under the Taliban's rule, women have been marginalized, facing expulsion from various professions and being denied access to higher education, including universities. The recent ban on beauty salons further adds to the restrictions imposed on women.
The Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has stationed morality police across major cities, enforcing rules such as prohibiting taxi and rickshaw drivers from transporting women not wearing a hijab within cities. The ministry mandates that women must be accompanied by a man while traveling, and they must wear a "full Islamic hijab" without clearly defining its specifics.
The measures adopted by the Taliban have a single aim – to push women out of the public eye. Maryam Marof Arwin, founder of a welfare organization for women and children, states that the Taliban is systematically and specifically eliminating women from Afghan society, echoing their oppressive actions during their previous rule from 1996 to 2001.
Experts warn that the Taliban's policies are reminiscent of their past degrading treatment of women, forcing them to wear burqas in public, restricting their mobility without male escorts, and denying them access to vital healthcare.
Despite the mounting pressure and challenges faced by Afghan women, they continue to voice their resistance and appeal for support and solidarity from the international community. Afghan women emphasize that the world should not stand idly by, and they need global support to safeguard their rights and dignity.
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