Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, women in Afghanistan have faced increasing restrictions, undoing decades of progress. Today, girls’ education is banned beyond sixth grade, women are excluded from public spaces and most jobs and are forced to observe a strict dress code.
In August 2024, the Taliban published a new law, in line with Islamic Sharia, to “promote virtue and eliminate vice”, establishing repressive rules for everyday life and significantly empowering the morality police.
Recently, the Taliban invalidated the divorce papers of Bibi Nazdana, a child bride. It is understood that the Taliban plan to invalidate all divorces granted under the previous government, forcing child brides to return to their former husbands.
The situation is alarming. We cannot forget that millions of Afghan women are forced to live under these brutal conditions. And yet, the world seems to look the other way. The European Union must take action – the Taliban regime must be held accountable.