KABUL: Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, has limited the rights of Afghan women and girls to inheritance and dowry, stripping them of other rights, including education, employment, and social participation. In an audio message, he called on men to pay women’s inheritance and dowry, labeling it as a “religious right.” According to reports from the Independent, Afghan women are not allowed to study beyond the sixth grade, and a large number of them have been removed from jobs in government offices and private companies. Their activities in humanitarian organizations and foreign NGOs have also been banned. Critics argue that a version of Sharia that emphasizes only inheritance and dowry while denying women’s education, work, and social presence serves as a tool for control and societal domination. The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which has taken over the former Ministry of Women’s Affairs, has become a symbol of intimidation for women through patrols and threats. Despite the Taliban’s claims and the statements from this ministry regarding the upholding of the rights to inheritance and dowry, Afghan women and girls continue to be deprived of even basic rights such as education, employment, and social participation, with no clear prospects for achieving these rights.
