In the busy political climate that Americans find themselves in today, many pressing news stories are overlooked by pressures to focus on the upcoming election, the war in Gaza and Ukraine and other various domestic and international conflicts.
Among these stories is the acceleration of a “gender apartheid,” according to the Women’s Regional Network, in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Since the terrorist organization known as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, there has been a long and detailed timeline of rights that have been stripped away from women under the guise of “vice and virtue laws.”
According to the United States Institution for Peace, on July 5, the police force in Daikundi announced that women must be covered from head to toe in Arabic hijab with violators facing punishment and imprisonment. On July 17, authorities of Vice and Virtue in Faryab banned women from all public parks. On July 31, the Taliban issued one of its most severe bans which was a restriction on women’s voices in public.
While most Americans are in the dark about the uptake in severity in assault on women’s rights in Afghanistan, some have spoken out against these laws. Award-winning American actress Meryl Streep spoke at the United Nations meeting in New York urging world leaders to focus on this human right crisis on Monday, Sept. 23.
“Today in Kabul, a female cat has more freedoms than a woman,” she said. “A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel into the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today.”
Villanovans are no exception to the majority of Americans who are in the dark or know very little of the atrocities affecting every aspect of a woman’s life in Afghanistan. A sense of helplessness, sadness and lack of knowledge on the subject was the general consensus among students, proving our political climate is selective in what takes precedence.
“I was aware that women’s rights were very limited in the Middle East but I didn’t know how grave the situation has become over the last year,” junior communication student Erica Wessels said.
“I can’t believe something this devastating is happening and there’s barely any media coverage on it,” junior marketing student Alexandra Fay said. “This is a very disappointing display of bias.”
“My family is Syrian, so I have always stayed in touch with the news and current events of the Middle East,” junior Nashla Estefan said. “I am disgusted by what’s going on because there is no space for your gender to play a role in what you can say, wear or even do as a person. One’s gender should never be a reason to be silenced.”
These issues seem far away from Villanova, but the students here have more power and resources to help than they think. It is important to not only educate oneself on women’s rights through research but understanding how they can get involved. “She’s the First” is a non-profit organization that has an independent chapter at Villanova that advocates for women and girls to be globally respected, educated and heard. This is an excellent place to start involvement right here on campus.
