Kabul and other regions refuse to give driving licenses to women drivers owing to the Taliban’s new rule in Afghanistan. The prohibition comes at a time when the country is experiencing a terrible humanitarian crisis. Food and other basic commodities are in short supply. Human rights in Afghanistan have deteriorated significantly since the breakdown of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s return to power in August last year.
Although the combat in the country has finished, major human rights violations, particularly against women, are continuing to date. There are strict orders to not provide licenses to women drivers.
“We have been verbally instructed to stop issuing licenses to women drivers but not directed to stop women from driving in the city,” said Jan Agha Achakzai. Achakzai is the head of Herat’s Traffic Management Institute which oversees driving schools. “We were told not to offer driving lessons and not to issue licenses,” she said.
No official order on the ban of licenses for women drivers
Before the Taliban’s takeover, women in Afghanistan were driving in some of the country’s largest cities, including Kabul. According to local media, the Taliban has stopped issuing driver’s licenses to women. They’ve been restricting the rights of Afghan women. The restrictions are on girls and women returning to secondary education and numerous government posts. There are no official orders about the ban of licenses.
The Taliban leadership in Afghanistan recently issued a directive prohibiting girls from attending education beyond sixth grade, drawing international outrage. According to international assessments, Afghanistan today has the world’s highest number of people in emergency food insecurity with more than 23 million people in need of assistance and about 95 percent of the population consuming insufficient food.
