By Haniya Frotan
Hatred and abuse of women in Afghanistan has taken on new life and dimensions with the Taliban takeover of the country.
The policies of the Taliban that defines itself by eradicating women from public life and any possibility of a public voice have helped stoke an anti-female mindset that is horrifying to behold. Misogynistic statements have become commonplace, and now its spreading beyond Afghanistan’s borders.
An Afghan “TikToker”, who resides in Europe, has been promoting the killing of women. The person, who goes by the name Haroon Malik on the platform TikTok, openly encourages the murder of women in videos posted online. These videos have been viewed thousands of times.
“Honorable Afghan men, when you see your wife betraying you and humiliating you, put her head under the pillow so that other women, both in Iran and within Afghanistan, will learn a lesson,” he says in one video.
Ruskshana Media’s attempts to contact Mr Malik have been unsuccessful.
Some women have launched an online campaign for Mr Malik to be prosecuted.
“This person is promoting the abhorrent act of killing women in the name of ‘honor’… According to the law, this individual should be reported to the authorities, prosecuted, and severely punished,” their petition letter states.
Migrant women are as much at risk as women who remain in Afghanistan.
Last month, a 33-year-old Herati woman living in Germany was allegedly murdered by her husband. Her throat was slit in front of their two children on December 3 in the small town of Bensheim, near Frankfurt, Germany, allegedly over family problems.
Less than a week later on December 7, a 31-year-old Afghan asylum seeker was accused of murdering his 20-year-old wife in East Westphalia, Germany by strangling her in the bathtub.
These incidents are not isolated tragedies. And the connection to the violence being encouraged against women on social media cannot be disregarded.
The rising normalization of such language and narratives has led to widespread concern among women’s rights activists. As anti-women messages proliferate in mosques and media platforms, galvanized by the religious approval of groups like the Taliban, women’s rights activists fear the mindset is reaching deep into the most fundamental and most private unit of society, the family.
These concerns are serious. Femicide is one of the most common headlines in the media inside Afghanistan – and yet its believed to be underreported.
According to the Rukhshana Media archive, from November 20 to December 20 alone, at least seven women and girls were brutally murdered by their relatives.
On November 26, a woman in Herat was murdered by her son, and a girl in Badghis by her father. At the same time, on the same date, a man in Faryab killed his wife and two-year-old daughter.
Three days later, a man in Baghlan beheaded his mother and injured his sister. On December 5, a 15-year-old girl in Faryab was mysteriously killed in her home.
Three days after this incident, a woman and her son in Nangarhar hanged their daughter-in-law and set her on fire.
The latest in a series of murders of women by their relatives occurred on January 6 a young son killed his mother.
These do not include the girls and women whose violent or untimely deaths have been unconfirmed or mysterious circumstances.
The promotion of violence against women is also prevalent in religious sermons and given that stamp of approval.
One of the most notable examples is the statements made by Mawlawi Yahya Anabi who openly advocates for violence against women.
The statements of this pro-Taliban cleric are also widely shared on social media. The content of some of his speeches are so disturbing that we have editorially decided not to repeat it.
Misogyny: Deep roots and harmful consequences
Women’s rights activists in Afghanistan say the roots of misogyny in the country are deeply entrenched. It is a phenomenon that has become intertwined with the culture and beliefs of its people.
Mazda Mehrgan, a poet and activist, says that misogynistic mindsets are systemic and are being reproduced within the cultural framework that is prone to denying women a voice.
“When I say systemic, I mean that these actions come from higher sources rooted in our culture and they perpetuate themselves,” Ms Mehrgan says.
“In Afghanistan, we are dealing with an anti-women system, with stereotypes and anti-women thoughts that are indebted to ancient traditions and models that have been ingrained in the minds of both men and women.”
She points to how “honour” is upheld above all else.
“Since the concept of honor has always been a sensitive topic in our society, anyone who defends their honor and uses violence against a woman or even kills her in the name of honor has been supported by the public. This is because honor is a concept that nearly everyone in our society believes in,” she says.
She believes that the fundamental anti-women message is that women, as symbols of honor, are objects one owns for sexual satisfaction, reproduction, and childbirth.
“For example, the insults related to honor that people direct at each other reflect this issue. In their thinking, they view women as beings tied to and owned by a man,” she says.
“In this way, when another’s property is violated, it enrages the person involved.”
Activist Raheel Talash says that misogynistic thinking in Afghanistan have a religious origin, with most people like Mullah Anaba, Haroon Malik, and others like them are convinced they are spouting religious truths.
“Anti-women stereotypes and even the Taliban ideology have deep roots in religious issues. In a religion where a man has the right to marry four wives, but a woman is not even granted the right to divorce, where the inheritance rights of a brother and sister are not equal, and where a woman’s testimony is considered half that of a man, a religion that repeatedly emphasizes treating women as property – these all show that discrimination and inequality originate from religion,” she says.
Activist Tarnam Saidi says that the return of the Taliban has intensified violence against women.
“Opportunistic individuals like Haroon Malik, Anaba, and their ilk have been emboldened to openly promote their primitive, violence-driven ideas.”
The Taliban has removed almost every human right from women in Afghanistan. They have issued dozens of decrees that systematically and structurally promote violence against women. They have taken away women’s rights to education, work, freedom of dress, and civil and social liberties.
Some human rights activists and international observers label it “gender apartheid.”
Malik Setez, a well-known researcher from Afghanistan, posted on his Facebook account that structural violence is the primary source of violence against women. Structural violence refers to violence imposed invisibly by religious, legal, political, and executive institutions within society.
Sociologists like Dr Hassan Reza Wahdat consider the consequences of promoting anti-women content in religious sermons and on social media to be irreparable.
“The publication and spread of content that people are sensitive to engages people’s minds, and when people’s minds are engaged, the society will also be engaged,” he says.
“As a result, patience, tolerance, and endurance will no longer exist.”
Dr Sardar Mohammad Rahimi, a researcher, university professor, and former Deputy Minister of Education under the previous Afghan government, says that sharing such views on social media has bitter consequences.
He says that a large percentage of the people in Afghanistan, both inside the country and abroad, are still influenced by ideological ideas and traditions. Hearing such propaganda may provoke and encourage them to take violent actions against their families and spouses.
Dr Rahimi says that the best way to confront misogynistic views outside of Afghanistan is by bringing those responsible to court, while inside Afghanistan, it is by raising public awareness about women’s rights.
