DND Report
In French literature there are citations about an imaginary land called ‘Le pays sans femmes’—that literally means ‘a country without women’.
In this imaginary land, females cannot produce sound (language) to communicate, cannot go outside cages built inside caves, and they even do not cook or perform normal activities a woman can do in a household. They (females) are a secondary option for males (alpha males) for satisfying their natural desires. The only assigned and authorized duty for females in this imaginary world was ‘production’ duty (childbirth and raising children). There is no wonder that this imaginary land now exists (has become real) in the world in the 21st century. That country is Afghanistan under the Afghan Taliban regime.
Afghanistan is the country that is without females officially, as the female gender has no right to vote, no right to work, no right to get education, and no right to talk with other people in public.
The Taliban regime’s oppressive restrictions have taken away women’s rights to education, the right to vote, the right to employment, and the right to come out of the home to do even simple shopping in markets.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2026, Afghan women’s rights groups staged a rare protest in Kabul, condemning what they described as the Taliban regime’s continued oppression of women and systematic violations of fundamental human rights.
Members of the Afghan Women’s Freedom Lantern Movement and the Afghan Women’s Cry Movement gathered to demonstrate against the Taliban’s policies, which they say have severely restricted women’s participation in public life since the group returned to power in August 2021.
Protesters from the Afghan Women’s Freedom Lantern Movement chanted slogans including “Bread, Work, Freedom” and “Our enemy is the Taliban,” calling for the restoration of basic rights such as education, employment, and the freedom to protest.
In a statement released during the demonstration, the Afghan Women’s Freedom Lantern Movement said that the Taliban’s extremist policies have deepened the crisis surrounding women’s rights in Afghanistan.
“Due to the extremist policies of the Afghan Taliban regime, the crisis of women’s rights has become deeper and more systematic,” the group stated.
The Afghan Women’s Cry Movement also issued a statement condemning what it described as the systematic marginalization of women under Taliban rule.
“Women have been systematically excluded from political, social, and economic life in the Afghan Taliban regime,” the group said.
“Women are victims of the worst forms of gender discrimination in Afghanistan.”
Since returning to power, the Taliban administration has imposed a series of restrictions on women and girls, including banning girls from secondary schools and universities, limiting women’s employment in many sectors, and restricting their movement without a male guardian. International organizations, including the United Nations and major human rights groups, have repeatedly condemned these measures, describing them as institutionalized gender discrimination.
Experts on Afghanistan say the continued restrictions have created one of the most severe women’s rights crises in the world.
According to analysts, serious violations of basic human rights and alleged patronage of militant groups have become defining features of the Taliban regime, further isolating Afghanistan diplomatically and economically.
They argue that the authorities in Kabul must shift their focus toward restoring women’s role in social, economic, and community life rather than continuing policies that marginalize half the country’s population.
Despite strict limitations on public demonstrations under Taliban rule, Afghan women’s activists have periodically staged protests both inside the country and abroad, demanding access to education, employment, and participation in governance. Human rights observers say such protests highlight the growing frustration among Afghan women, many of whom have seen their opportunities and freedoms sharply curtailed over the past three years.
