Women fear return of the Taleban

The vast majority of Afghan women are worried about a return to power of a Taleban-style government and more than a third say the departure of foreign troops will make the country worse off.

According to a survey of 1,000 Afghan women released yesterday by charity ActionAid, the majority believed they were safer and their lives had improved, since the Taleban were toppled from power. It found that 66 per cent felt safer now than ten years ago and 72 per cent believed their lives had improved.

The Taleban, which ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, was infamous for its strict laws marginalising women, that deprived them of the rights to work, study or move freely.

Afghanistan’s constitution now stipulates that men and women have equal rights, but many independent agencies say women in the conservative country are still subject to discrimination and oppression.