Taliban erased women from public life in days: Afghan women speak out

Five years after the Taliban seized Kabul on August 15, 2021, they dismantled institutions, laws, and services tied to women’s rights within days. They also purged the judicial system of all female presence. This is the second installment of “Voices of Afghan Women,” a series based on testimonies collected by our reporter in Kabul. Afghan women describe a swift and total erasure from public life—from courts to classrooms to clinics. One woman, a former judge, told our reporter: “They removed us like we were a mistake.” Another, a teacher, said: “In one week, the doors closed. Not slowly—all at once.” The Taliban’s actions, which the United Nations has called “gender apartheid,” stripped women of jobs, education, and legal recourse. No new laws were needed; existing structures were simply emptied of female participation. Five years on, the testimonies show a pattern: every institution that once offered women a role now excludes them. The next installment will focus on health care, where female doctors have been barred from most hospitals.