logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2021
18m 13s

The plight of girls under the Taliban

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In Afghanistan, high schools are currently closed to girls, and women have been banned from TV dramas. So how hard is life for the female half of the population, as the Taliban reassert control?

Tamasin Ford hears from her colleague Yalda Hakim, who recently returned to the Afghan capital Kabul, the city of her birth, where she quizzed members of the new regime about their intentions for girls' education. Tamasin also speaks to Mahbouba Seraj of the Afghan Women Skills Development Center in Kabul about what life is now like in the city.

Meanwhile Marianne O’Grady, who worked in Afghanistan for the charity CARE International until she was evacuated in August, says that with food now running desperately short in the country, there are even more pressing concerns than the treatment of women.

(Picture: Afghan girls look out next to a building in Sharan, Afghanistan; Credit: Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Up next
Today
Power Players: What does Mamdani's Manhattan mean for the world?
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani rode a wave of anti-Trump sentiment and cost-of-living pressures to win the New York City mayoralty. But talk of new taxes to fund spending spooked some on Wall Street. Six months in, has he found a balance? Presenters: Michelle Fleury and Will ... Show More
26m 1s
Apr 7
Headspace: from mindfulness app to military partner
Headspace started life as a mindfulness app. Now it's partnering with the US Navy and investing in artificial intelligence for mental health support.The company's CEO Tom Pickett speaks to us about therapy, the increasing role of technology, and tackling burnout at scale.If you'd ... Show More
17m 28s
Apr 7
Anthropic: the $300bn AI firm at war with the White House
Anthropic’s rise from startup to one of the world’s leading players in artificial intelligence has been staggering, but so in recent weeks has been its row with the US Government.Today, we look at that journey to becoming a 380 billion dollar company, ask why Claude has become on ... Show More
17m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
Afghan women
Since the Taliban returned to power some 18 months ago, women in Afghanistan have been removed from nearly all areas of public life. They are barred from secondary schools, universities and most workplaces and cannot even socialise in public parks. As Afghanistan faces a growing ... Show More
24m 3s
Jun 2023
The New Afghanistan, Through the Eyes of Three Women
<p><i>This episode contains descriptions of violence.</i></p><p>In the two years since the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, the Taliban has shut women and girls out of public life.</p><p>Christina Goldbaum, a correspondent in the Kabul bureau for The New York Times, trave ... Show More
40m 19s
Aug 2023
Inside Afghanistan's secret schools
In March 2022, seven months after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, second level education was banned for girls, leaving around 1.1 million of them without access to formal schooling. Then in December that year, all female students were refused access to universities ... Show More
27m 25s
Nov 2021
Rules for Women Under Taliban Law
<p>In this week's episode, we discuss the very sad situation currently happening in Afghanistan. The Taliban recently took control again and it has had a devastating effect on Afghan women.</p> <p>We discuss two organizations in the episode that are linked below as well. Please ... Show More
30m 10s
Nov 2022
The danger and devotion of fighting for women in Afghanistan | Tamana Ayazi and Kat Craig
The women of Afghanistan are being persecuted under Taliban rule, but they're not standing down. Filmmaker Tamana Ayazi chronicles the harrowing reality of one women's rights advocate -- Zarifa Ghafari, Afghanistan's youngest female mayor -- in her documentary "In Her Hands." In ... Show More
19m 49s
Mar 2022
‘The Dreams We Had Are Like a Dream’
<p>Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last year, thousands of women and girls who were in school or had jobs were forced back into their homes.</p><p>The Daily producers Lynsea Garrison and Stella Tan have been talking to women and girls across the country about their ... Show More
40m 41s
Aug 2024
New restrictions placed on women in Afghanistan
When the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan three years ago, the Taliban quickly seized control, implementing restrictions on women’s education and what they can wear and do. Now the Taliban has imposed further restrictions on what women can wear, and how they can use their ... Show More
19m 30s
Aug 2022
OS Conversations: One year of the Taliban
In August 2021, the Taliban entered the capital Kabul, unchallenged, to take control of Afghanistan, 20 years after the Americans toppled them from power. The country was turned upside down. One year on, the list of challenges is long, including the millions who are facing hunger ... Show More
24m 45s