"HOMMES ARMÉS, FEMMES AGUERRIES" 
 

 
The Taliban's rules towards women go as far as to practically exclude them from the public arena.
 These rules include banning women  from walking around the towns and working outside their homes, which has led to unemployment for tens of thousands of female workers , from those working in intellectual well-paid jobs to  those lower down the scale.
This has also made life very difficult for the 50,000 or so unmarried women living in the capital.

Until the Taliban arrived in Kaboul in 1996, governmental administration was made up of a 60% female workforce, mainly concentrated in secondary roles.
Yet, the Talibans tough stance today not only affects women, since men are also punished with fines, beatings or prison if they do not obey the Taliban's rules.
This goes to show that the regime also relies heavily on male responsibility in order to control the behaviour of women.
The principle of total separation of the sexes has even spread to the health care system, where hospital wards are totally segregated.
Society as a whole has suffered from the regime imposed upon it, which, whilst providing security for lives and fortunes, forces upon the population a form of moral utopia without seeking to provide a solution to the increasing poverty within the country provoked by war and underdevelopment.

The Taliban rules, firmly rooted in a strict interpretation of the 'chariat' religious code, are part of a global and systematic project which reaches all sections of society.
The Taliban reject suggestions that the measures they impose are a form of repression against women, denying them of their basic rights.
They maintain that their strict application of the 'chariat' actually guarantees womens rights and promotes equality between the two sexes.
Those promoting the Taliban cause assure that they are in fact working in favour of womens honour, their rights and their dignity.

 what are there rights?
And what does Mullah Omar, leader of the followers of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, believe are the reasons behind womens present status in the country?
This theory is based upon the differentiation of tasks and responsibilities  as a result of feminine nature. 
According to Mullah Omar, "God Almighty created men and women to be different so that they may fulfil their specific functions on this earth.
One proverb states that domestic duties are the role of women whereas the outside world belongs to warriors".

Extract from a speech given at the "Armed men and women accustomed to war" conference, Geneva, University Institute of development Studies, 23-24 January 2001.