Taliban Forcing Afghan Women To Marry Terrorists, Leave Jobs: Reports

Taliban and Afghan women: As Taliban's reign of terror regains ground in Afghanistan with the retreat of US military troops, women are gradually witnessing a return to the dark days before 2001.

Reports emerging from the conflict zone claim the radical Islamic organisation, in imposing their fundamental interpretations of what they call the "genuine" ways of the religion, is forcing women out of work despite promising them otherwise. According to Reuters, which cites interviews with Afghan women, several bankers have been compelled to leave their jobs in the wake of the Taliban's rise to power.

In Kandahar and Herat, Taliban fighters reportedly admonished women for showing their faces in public and escorted them to their homes, asking a male relative to take their place at the bank.

Taliban And Afghan Women: Violent Clash Between Power And Rights

During their rule in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, human and gender rights violations were rampant with women not being allowed to work, study, move around without the accompaniment of men, or make independent choice.

Some recent reports of atrocities bring to light incidents of women as young as 21 being shot for not wearing a veil or executed for body-hugging clothes.

"Women and children are suffering the most," a spokesperson for the Afghan government has said.

As per reports by The Wall Street Journal, the Taliban is forcing women to marry terrorists in Afghanistan. Last month, the outfit reportedly issued a statement demanding girls above 15 and widows below 45 years of age for marriage to their fighters. Human rights groups have raised concerns about sexual violence in this regard.

According to the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, out of a million Afghans displaced in recent months as the Taliban takes control, 70 percent are women and children.

"How long must we keep running?" Afghan women quoted in reports ask.

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