Afghan Women

Sarah Gomez
ENG 1010
Response Essay



The women of Afghanistan have lived under restrictions unfamiliar to many women living in western countries. Since the Taliban took control of the majority of Afghanistan in 1996, the women have been subjected to a series of harsh rules and punishments unheard of in any other country of the world. One story the article discusses is of Fatima. Fatima is an Afghani refugee from Kabul living in the small northern city of Pakistan called Peshawar. She is an English teacher in the refugee camp where she now lives. The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan runs a network of home schools where female teachers risk their lives by providing education for young girls. Life under the Taliban’s fundamentalist Islamic rule is especially tough for Afghani women. Girls are forbidden to attend schools; women have to give up their jobs and are not allowed to go out unless covered by a burqa (black veil) or accompanied by a male rela...