Afghan Women Warned to Remain in Homes

Taliban soldiers are "not trained" to respect women, a spokesperson said.

Taliban soldiers are “not trained” to respect women, a spokesperson said.

As the Taliban occupation of Afghanistan continues, spokespeople of the organization have made promises to be more tolerant toward women. When the Taliban were previously in power, women were forced to cover their entire bodies and were not permitted to work jobs. Since then, many Afghan women now hold jobs, which the Taliban soldiers have been attempting to bar them from working.

On Tuesday, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that women should remain in their homes for their own safety, as Taliban soldiers, in his words, are “not trained” to be respectful toward women. As such, any woman who attempts to go to their job could be attacked by a Taliban soldier. Mujahid said that this measure would be temporary, until the organization can ensure its soldiers will not harm women.

“We are happy for them to enter the buildings but we want to make sure they do not face any worries,” he said. “Therefore, we have asked them to take time off from work until the situation gets back to a normal order and women related procedures are in place, then they can return to their jobs once it’s announced.”

People are still leaving the country in droves from Kabul airport, with approximately 19,000 evacuated from on Tuesday, including 11,200 evacuees on US military flights and 7,800 on coalition flights.