5. The Taliban’s treatment of women and girls drew international condemnation
The Taliban justified their treatment of women as a means of making them secure from the ravages of men. It was based on the Pashtun practice of purdah. In essence, purdah referred to the segregation of women from men, and the concealment of their bodies when such segregation proved impractical. The Taliban believed a woman’s face, when seen by men, not their relatives, corrupted the man. As a result, women were required to wear a burqa, a medieval piece of clothing which covered the entire body, with only a narrow slit through which to see. At first, girls were given a rudimentary education to the age of eight, after which they were allowed to study only the Quran. Women were denied employment in all but medical fields, and those who intended to enter medicine were selected by Taliban leaders, not the woman’s family.
The Taliban’s restrictions against women began when a girl reached the age of eight. Tiny burqas wandered the streets of Kabul and other cities under Taliban control. Any woman appearing in public had to be chaperoned by a male blood relation, or her husband. Women with no father, brother, or husband (and there were many given the casualties of the endless war), were for all practical purposes prisoners in their home. If they risked going out alone they faced beatings from the religious police imposed by the Taliban. If they risked going out with a male escort who did not meet the religious requirements, they committed adultery. Residential windows were blacked out to prevent women within from being seen from the street, lest they corrupt a passing male. Women were prohibited from all public gatherings. Cosmetics including nail polish were banned throughout the country under Taliban rule.