The War on Women’s Voices; Censorship in Afghanistan
By Katie McShane
In a speech to the UN Meryl Streep said, ‘A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not’. [1]
As a Gown writer, I have felt freedom to write as many silly and satirical articles as I pleased. My voice remained my own and I was free to use it as loudly as I could, both in print and in speech. However, as a woman I cannot fail to notice, not only my incredibly good luck to have liberties (or rights), but also the perilousness of them. Women in Afghanistan are having their freedom stripped away from them in real time. In a world so different to my own I am seeing girls and women just like me in a life incomprehensible to myself. Why should I have freedom of press, but she doesn’t have freedom of speech? In a wholly unfair world this question doesn’t even scratch the surface.
When the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan in 2021 the world watched out as they systematically implemented laws silencing one half of their population. I can speak all I want about my rights as I laid out above. However, three years is all it took for women’s speech to be outright banned in public. This is a shocking statement to read anywhere outside of a dystopian novel. Even more shocking is the simple yet calculated way they stripped the rights of all women one by one.
The right to education
Today, Afghan girls cannot attend school past sixth grade. They cannot pursue higher study; they cannot go to university. This is something we take in Belfast as a given. Only one month into the Taliban’s regime this was implemented showing how clearly, they disregard women as people and academics. Religious issues were claimed as their reasoning – saying religious scholars took issue with girls going to school. This sparks further questions, ones that open up to another conversation entirely, ‘Does religion come before the law?’
The right to protest
The removal of education did not come without a fight. Afghan women fearlessly took to the streets in protest, much like women in Belfast have, to protest against gender-based violence. Unfortunately, in this case the Taliban retaliated violently. Activists were beaten on the street, taken and beaten whilst in custody for weeks. One woman reported being ‘lashed with electric cables.’[2] Under the declaration of Human Rights, all people are granted the right to both education and freedom of expression.[3] And yet, on the streets of Afghanistan, women are being attacked for demonstrating opinion.
The right to speak
Frightened by a women’s pen, the Taliban has banned female journalists. Crippled by women’s voices, they have banned women from speaking in public. Women’s gossip, political discussions, disagreements and jokes are all threats – things we do here every day. They are frightened of leaving home, terrified of speaking amongst themselves on the street in case they should be overheard. This lends a stark difference to the life we lead; one filled with chatter and laughter. A person’s voice is something special and important to them, it’s not something that should be stripped away and stolen. A person cannot be a person without their freedom of expression. One woman in Afghanistan, Shabana, summed this up “If we can’t speak, why even live? Were like dead bodies moving around.” [4]
The right to exist
If these barbaric displays aren’t enough to sway you in defence of the women in Afghanistan consider this – not being permitted to travel far outside your home without male supervision. Being banned from public spaces such as gyms, swimming pools, and beauty salons. How many girls are there just like me, trapped in a place where they cannot exist? Where they cannot do things that I do every day? Reading this is uncomfortable, to have your own privilege shoved down your throat. We cannot forget these women because it makes us uncomfortable but rather stare the truth in its face and acknowledge that we must do something if they can’t.
These changes will have longstanding effects on Afghanistan and its women. In just three years they were stripped of their identity, their voice, and their freedoms. No person should have to live under these conditions. Today, the majority of women in Afghanistan have reported having ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ mental health. 8% of women report knowing at least one other woman who had attempted suicide. [5] It’s absolutely sickening that the only thing separating these women from Queens students is an 8-hour plane ride.
Since opening my eyes I’ve consciously begun to speak more in my classes, I’m outspoken in tutorials asking questions and contributing to discussions. I know my education to be a precious thing and determined to work with what I have, to do what I can. To end on a lighter note, if the Taliban implemented these changes this fast, we could surely reinstate these rights quicker – as Kamala Harris recently said, ‘This is not a time to throw up our hands, this is a time to roll up
our sleeves’.[6]
1 – Streep, Meryl, Video: Meryl Streep addresses women’s rights in Afghanistan at UN | CNN
2- Limaye, Yogita, ‘Five key moments in the crushing of Afghan women’s rights’, August, 15th, 2023, Five key moments in the crushing of Afghan women’s rights – BBC News
3- Universal declaration of human rights.
4- Limaye, Yogita, ‘If we can’t speak, why live?’ – BBC meets women after new Taliban law, September 11th, 2024, Taliban ban Afghanistan women from raising voices
5- Penn, Diane, Afghanistan: Taliban rule has erased women from public life, sparked mental health crisis, August 13th, 2024, Afghanistan: Taliban rule has erased women from public life, sparked mental health crisis | UN News
6- Noel, Melissa, Kamala Harris Delivers Concession Speech With Resolve: ‘This Is Not A Time To Throw Up Our Hands, This Is A Time To Roll Up Our Sleeves’, November 7th, 2024, Kamala Harris Delivers Concession Speech With Resolve: ‘This Is Not A Time To Throw Up Our Hands, This Is A Time To Roll Up Our Sleeves’
