Afghan women erased by the Taliban as the international community looks on

A Taliban fighter stands guard as women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul on May 23, 2023. © Ebrahim Noroozi, file, AP

The oppression of Afghan women continues unabated before the eyes of the world. The Taliban imposed severe new restrictions earlier this month, with women not only obliged to cover their faces but now forbidden from raising their voices, singing or reading aloud in public. Western countries – led by the US and EU – have condemned the new laws but also seem resigned to the Taliban regime, which offers some stability in the region. 

Invisible, and now silent. Three years after the Taliban's return to power, Afghan women continue to see their few remaining rights dwindle away.