Author Contrasts Taliban Restrictions With Afghan Women's Historical Freedoms

Author John Griffiths documented a historical contrast between the current restrictions on women under Taliban rule and the relative freedoms they possessed in the 1960s. In his work, 'Afghanistan: Land of Conflict and Beauty', Griffiths notes that women in 1966 engaged in political discussions without wearing burqas.

He cites the 1965 election of the first four women to the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of parliament, as a key precedent of female agency. Griffiths also points to past reforms in secondary education and infrastructure projects, such as the Salang tunnel, to illustrate a period of greater societal openness.

Griffiths questions how these freedoms can be restored to Afghanistan's 22 million women and girls. He asserts that relying on force to implement such changes seldom works, contrasting these historical precedents with the misogyny and restrictions currently imposed by the Government of the Afghan Taliban.