By Hamia Naderi
For Afghan women, words like equality and empowerment are nothing but bitter mockery. Behind the towering walls of their homes and suffocating laws, they are imprisoned in the world’s largest jail — a prison where being a woman is an endless crime.
Afghanistan’s rulers have no plan but to erase women entirely from the fabric of society. One by one, the doors of offices, universities, and schools were shut in their faces. The right to work, to study, to travel, and even to appear in public spaces was stripped away. At the peak of this oppression, they issued a decree declaring women’s voices impure and unworthy of being heard, turning speaking in public into a punishable offense. The leaders of this regime openly boast of implementing “complete Sharia” and envision an ideal society where women are silent, faceless, and powerless.
The rulers’ behavior is riddled with hypocrisy: those who call photographs forbidden use images freely to promote their own power. This duplicity has led some to fall for the illusion of “moderates” within their ranks — a dangerous delusion that not only normalizes their tyranny but prolongs the life of the repressive regime.
But the truth is this: the people of Afghanistan — especially its women — have never surrendered. With astonishing courage, they resist through silence and creativity. Underground schools, advocacy networks, and hidden shelters stand as powerful testimonies to their indomitable spirit. Instead of chasing the mirage of “moderate Taliban,” we must turn our eyes toward this tangible, unyielding resistance and strengthen it.
The very nature of this regime — whether it wears the face of a hardliner or claims moderation — is rooted in the denial of human dignity. Their project is to build a society of absolute masters and submissive, voiceless subjects — a vision fundamentally at odds with the right to life, liberty, and human dignity.
In a world where human rights are under daily assault, we must remember: regimes like this only retreat in the face of an aware, united, and resistant people. A brighter future will not come from hoping the oppressors change their nature, but from standing alongside the living mechanisms of grassroots resistance:
- Applying targeted pressure on violators of human dignity;
- Supporting underground education and advocacy institutions;
- Stripping the tyrannical regime of legitimacy on the world stage.
It is not appeasing diplomacy but solidarity with the voices of freedom inside Afghanistan that will break the chains of this vast prison. The future will be forged by the steadfast hands of the Afghan people, through their unwavering resistance.
