{
  "id": 312510,
  "title": "How the World Learned to Live with the Exclusion of Afghan Women",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/how-the-world-learned-to-live-with-the-exclusion-of-afghan-women",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-06T18:55:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Diplomat",
    "slug": "the-diplomat",
    "url": "https://thediplomat.com/2026/08/how-the-world-learned-to-live-with-the-exclusion-of-afghan-women/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the five years since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, the world has witnessed a systematic campaign to confine women and girls to a life of invisibility and silence. Girls are barred from secondary schools and universities, while women have been barred from workplaces, and restrictions on movement and expression have expanded. Afghanistan remains the world's sole nation where girls and women are forbidden from higher education, leaving over 2 million adolescent girls without the right to continue learning.\n\nThe international community's approach to engaging with the Taliban has shifted from demanding the restoration of women's rights to finding ways to coexist with the regime's exclusionary policies. The U.N. and other organizations now practice \"principled engagement,\" balancing the need to address the humanitarian crisis with calls for an end to women's restrictions.\n\nThe Taliban's strategy has been to wait for global attention to wane, leveraging policies that once sparked outrage and making them ordinary occurrences in a country already grappling with a humanitarian crisis. More than 79 decrees directly restrict women's rights, while over 400 other measures indirectly affect every aspect of their lives.\n\nAs a result, Afghan women's voices have largely vanished from public narratives. The media landscape has faced intense pressure, with female journalists removed, media organizations restricted, and discussions about women's rights narrowed. UNESCO has reported that media restrictions have tightened, including preventing women from participating in radio broadcasts.\n\nSaad Mohseni, chairman of Afghanistan's largest private media company, recently described life in Afghanistan as normal, claiming women can walk around cities without covering their faces. However, reports from Herat contradict this, with Taliban authorities detaining women for violating hijab rules, even when they are fully covered. This discrepancy underlines the issue of depicting Afghanistan's reality as normal while women continue to face arbitrary enforcement of rules.\n\nDespite these challenges, women and girls have found alternative means of education, such as online platforms, home-based classrooms, and private initiatives. Women have demonstrated remarkable courage and determination in creating lifelines for learning despite the obstacles.\n\nHowever, no alternative program can replace a functioning education system. UNICEF warns that continued restrictions on girls' education will have devastating consequences for Afghanistan's economy, healthcare system, and future workforce. While the Taliban may believe limiting women's education safeguards their vision of society, in reality, it is weakening the country by denying a generation of women the chance to build their futures, contribute to their families, and become leaders.",
  "summary": "The world has to do more than admire Afghan women’s resilience. It must stand with them by taking concrete actions.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
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        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/world-news-today-live-updates-on-august-8-2026-right-wing-lawyer",
        "published": "2026-08-08T05:52:49.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}