As Taliban regime makes it harder for Afghan girls and women, a generation of wasted potential must wait for international community’s helpPublished Jun 17, 2025 • Last updated 20 minutes ago • 4 minute readIn Afghanistan, women still allowed to work as TV presenters must keep their faces and bodies covered. Screenshot from TOLO televisionI went for a walk in the sun the other day with a man who was not my husband, relative or chaperone. (Although I do have a husband — a man I married as an adult, of my own free will.)We made eye contact. I wore a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers, my head bare. I could have sung out loud if I wanted.Later, I worked, writing columns like this one — articles that will be published online and in newspapers; forums where I can choose topics and share my opinions — not dogma someone has forced down my throat.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentWomen can’t live this way in Afghanistan and have not been able to under increasingly restrictive Taliban rule since 2021.There, reading aloud is seen as an act of defiance.Many girls are forbidden to attend school after the age of 12.Women must always have their faces and bodies covered in public, supposedly to avoid temptation and provocation. Girls and women are not even supposed to look at males they aren’t related to.There are no women in high-ranking government positions and women have been barred from working as lawyers and judges in the legal system.Wasted potentialWhen the latest edicts were announced in 2024, a Taliban spokesman declared that they “will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice.”Whether that’s true depends on who you talk to — there have been many reports of child marriage and forced pregnancies in Afghanistan — but the law has certainly eliminated women’s voices.Article contentMany Afghan women are largely confined to their homes, no longer able to go out in public on their own or to drive.Where once they dreamed of furthering their education or pursuing vocations, now they fear for the future — or the lack thereof. Depression and other mental illnesses are widely reported among women and girls.Recently, our grown daughter told me that she had gone out to dinner with some friends in downtown St. John’s — women she has known since they were little girls.They had a great time, these young women — some with partners, some solo; their futures are bright. They have promising careers in medicine, the legal profession, social justice, advocacy and outreach. They have ambitions, aspirations, opportunities for altruism. They laughed and talked about their plans for the future.I was telling my husband about this dinner, and he thought of the girls and women in Afghanistan who are being subjugated. Silenced. Shut down. Rendered invisible.Article contentHow much potential is being wasted, he said. All those talents and intellects that cannot be exercised; all those contributions to society that will never be made.Read More PAM FRAMPTON: Speak up for Afghan women and girls PAM FRAMPTON: ‘Everybody is terrified’ — Afghan Olympian hearing horror stories from home PAM FRAMPTON: ‘This is a nightmare’: life under Taliban will be difficult, says Afghan woman ‘I see no hope in this country’In March 2025, the BBC published “A day in the life of Afghanistan’s women,” an online feature where girls and women living under Taliban rule were encouraged to share their thoughts about their lives, their dreams and fears.Ala, 28, said this: “In truth, I see no hope in this country, except for people who are merely surviving out of sheer necessity.“Girls who are expected to behave like girls but bear the heavy burden of a large family on their shoulders, carrying an overwhelming weight of unfulfilled dreams. They are trapped in a world where doors are closed tighter with every passing moment. …Article content“We were born with hopes and aspirations, just like everyone else, yet we are forced to bury them under the weight of oppression. We are trapped in a cycle of waiting — waiting for doors to open, for opportunities to return, for the world to see our suffering. But how long can we wait? How many more years of our lives must be stolen before the world realises that silence is complicity?”The Taliban’s regressive regime has not gone unnoticed on the international front, but progress is painfully slow. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for Taliban leaders for crimes against humanity, but the Taliban does not recognize the ICC’s authority.At the United Nations, there are talks of negotiating a treaty that would punish crimes against humanity, such as those being perpetuated in Afghanistan, but preparatory work is not even set to begin until 2027.Meanwhile, years of education are being denied, opportunities for self-expression and professional development quashed.“I want to live a life where my heart is full of gratitude,” Ala told the BBC, “not a life where my eyes are filled with tears, asking myself: ‘Why am I still alive?’”Pam Frampton lives in St. John’s. Email pamelajframpton@gmail.com | X: @Pam_Frampton | Bluesky: @pamframpton.bsky.socialArticle content
PAM FRAMPTON: For Afghan girls and women, our silence is seen as complicity
