Afghan women tell the BBC their lives are unrecognisable after five years of Taliban rule

Five yea s o f om the Taliba takeove i Afgha ista , wome a d gi ls have told the BBC thei lives a e u ecog isable u de the ule of the egime.

The ha d-li e Islamist g oup has bee e odi g the ights of the 22 millio wome i the cou t y si ce it e-gai ed co t ol i 2021- two decades afte bei g emoved f om powe by a US-led milita y coalitio .

The BBC is o e of the few media o ga isatio s that has bee able to mai tai access to Afgha ista si ce the takeove . We spoke to wome ac oss the cou t y, f om the hea t of Kabul to the vast cou t yside.

They have watched o as the Taliba ba ed access to school fo gi ls ove 12, est icted t avel without a male chape o e a d b ought i a law implyi g legal app oval fo child ma iage.

Whe questio ed by BBC Afgha ove the co st ai ts that wome face, the Taliba ‘s fo eig mi iste said: “Wome a e ot totally est icted o all walks of life”.

But the est ictio s impact almost eve y pa t of thei lives a d make it difficult to tell thei sto ies. Ma y of the wome have ot used thei eal ames because they fea ep isals.

“People a e so ove whelmed by pove ty a d daily ha dships that ma y have bee fo ced to put thei educatio , d eams, a d hopes fo the futu e aside,” Ela f om Kabul said.

“Today, su vival has become the p io ity, a d ma y of us o lo ge have the time o e e gy to thi k about the futu e.”

This sto y co tai s dist essi g details.

Afgha ista is cu e tly the o ly cou t y i the wo ld whe e gi ls a e officially ba ed f om seco da y a d highe educatio .

Shakiba ecou ted that “15 August, whe the gove me t fell, was the wo st a d most pai ful day of my life.

“Eve y yea whe this date comes I feel as if a old wou d ope s agai a d a ew feeli g of defeat fills my hea t.

“That day I felt that ma y of the d eams I had ca ied i side me fo yea s we e sudde ly take away.”

Though Shakiba has ma aged to fi ish he seco da y educatio o li e – “a ve y impo ta t victo y” – she says he life-lo g goal of becomi g a pilot feels impossible.

“Whe eve I looked at the sky I imagi ed myself flyi g a ai pla e a d seei g the wo ld f om above. I wa ted to fly f eely a d expe ie ce a wo ld without limits,” she said.

The Taliba ‘s fo eig mi iste , Ami Kha Muttaqi, was asked by the BBC about educatio fo gi ls i Afgha ista , specifically efe e ci g a U icef epo t stati g that a ou d 2.6 millio gi ls i the cou t y a e ow u able to atte d school beyo d G ade 6.

Ami Kha Muttaqi eplied that “it is ot co ect to say eve ythi g is ba ed fo wome “, addi g that ” ight ow, th ee millio gi ls a e goi g to schools a d mad assas [ eligious ce t es focused o Islamic teachi gs]”.

Whe asked how eligious schools ca p oduce docto s i the cou t y, Muttaqi said: “Wome a e ot totally est icted o all walks of life… O ly o e small pa t (of thei affai s) is est icted u til fu the otice.”

O ly 7% of wome i Afgha ista a e employed, afte bei g ba ed f om ma y wo kplaces a d fields of study, the U ited Natio s says.

News a cho Zuhal was pushed out of he job afte a se ies of Taliba o de s.

“I was ve y passio ate about my wo k a d did it with love. Eve y time I sat i f o t of the came a a d ead the ews, I felt p oud a d happy… it was pa t of my ide tity a d life.

“The days whe I used to wake up to the sou d of my ala m clock a d get eady to watch TV have ow become days whe I wake up i the mo i g k owi g that I have to spe d the whole day at home.”

Acco di g to the fo eig mi iste , Afgha ista had up to 30,000 wome i busi ess i 2020 a d 2021 – which has si ce ise to 120,000 female e t ep e eu s.

“[Wome ] a e teache s, a d civil se va ts a d e t ep e eu s. The e is ot a total ba o wome i all fo ms of e gageme t a d activities,” Muttaqi said.

The Taliba has esumed the public impleme tatio of co po al pu ishme ts, with official eco ds sayi g hu d eds of people have bee flogged si ce 2021 – but the t ue figu e is likely much highe .

Shaima told the BBC she was whipped 50 times, leavi g he body badly sca ed a d he whole family t aumatised.

“They b ought a pape a d fo ced me to co fess that: ‘Yes, I am a apostate woma . I am collabo ati g with i fidels a d have spoke with u elated me ‘.

“They hit me so ha d that my head would be d towa d the g ou d.

“A ou d 200 local people had gathe ed, i cludi g me , boys, a d child e . All of them we e male. I was equi ed to say out loud that I epe ted.”

Shaima said he eldest daughte ow wakes up f ighte ed almost eve y ight a d asks he “Mothe , they a e beati g you,” o “Mothe , they a e killi g you”.

“That is what causes me the g eatest pai ,” she added.

Ma izha was publicly lashed 39 times ove he f ie dship with a ma , a d the jailed.

“We wa ted to get ma ied, but u fo tu ately we we e a ested. I do ot k ow how the Taliba i tellige ce fou d out, o whethe someo e epo ted us.

“I p iso , I expe ie ced thi gs that I have eve eve told my mothe . I had o desi e to co ti ue livi g. I used to say that the fi st thi g I would do afte getti g out of p iso would be to take my ow life.

“I had become a sou ce of shame fo my family a d f ie ds… I could o lo ge thi k about ma iage.”

If you, o someo e you k ow, has bee affected by issues me tio ed i this a ticle, BBC Actio Li e has put togethe a list of o ga isatio s which ca help.

Afgha ista has o e of the wo ld’s highest mate al mo tality ates – ules est icti g t eatme t by male docto s mea ma y wome a d gi ls a e u able to access healthca e.

Midwife Ma zia ecou ted watchi g a 45-yea -old mothe of six die i f o t of he afte she t avelled to the cli ic f om a emote dist ict.

“We ma aged to save the baby, but ow I keep thi ki g about the baby’s futu e a d the futu e of he six othe child e . What will happe to them without thei mothe ? What will happe to the whole family?

“We we e all hea tb oke . Fo us, losi g a patie t is always the ha dest pa t of ou job. We become exhausted, both physically a d emotio ally.”

Ma yam is expecti g a baby gi l a d said she wo ies about he daughte ‘s futu e.

“If thi gs co ti ue like this, what will happe to he ? She will ot eve have the cha ce to fi ish school like I did, let alo e go to u ive sity.

“If o e day she gets ma ied, becomes p eg a t a d eeds a female docto du i g childbi th, what if the e is ‘t o e? This is a matte of life a d death.”

Some of the Afgha wome we spoke to said they still have hope fo the futu e.

Noo i, 24, said she had chose to study law a d political scie ce because she wa ted to give wome a voice a d defe d thei ights.

She eve fi ished he deg ee because of the Taliba take ove , but she’s still bee able to fi d a way to help wome .

“I did ot lose hope. I decided to sta t wo ki g a d become fi a cially i depe de t. I fou d a job at a jam-maki g compa y a d sta ted wo ki g the e. I have ow bee wo ki g fo th ee yea s.

“Now, I have decided to establish my ow compa y so that I ca p ovide employme t oppo tu ities fo othe wome . I wa t them to become i depe de t, st o g, a d successful wome like me a d have a bette futu e.

“Cu e tly, 10 b ave wome a e wo ki g the e.”

Asma, who is 13, wa ts to become a docto a d is su e someday she will be.

“O e day, eve ythi g will cha ge… but we must co ti ue with patie ce, a d we will ot lose hope,” she told the BBC.

Ela, who is a de tal assista t, u ged the i te atio al commu ity ot to fo get Afgha i wome a d gi ls.

“Speak up fo Afgha wome , suppo t thei ight to educatio a d wo k,” she said.

“Keep the wo ld’s atte tio o thei situatio . We eed solida ity, ot sile ce.”