Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan is experiencing severe human rights abuses, notably against women and ethnic minorities, amid socio-political and humanitarian crises. In this piece, the authors analyze the severe human rights challenges in Afghanistan, particularly focusing on the plight of women under the Taliban and historical patterns of gender inequality. They propose federalism as a potential pathway to address these challenges, arguing for decentralization to better represent Afghanistan’s diverse ethnic groups and the need for internal, organic change to achieve sustainable advancements in women’s rights. The authors advocate for decentralization to accommodate the diverse needs of Afghanistan’s various ethnic groups while addressing the longstanding struggles and complex challenges in advancing women’s rights, historically hampered by entrenched tribalism and political instability.
Afghanistan is currently grappling with severe challenges under the Taliban leading to widespread human rights abuses, including severe violations of women’s and girls’ rights, sexual assaults, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, attacks on journalists and civil society activists, assaults on civilians, and ethnic discrimination, including systematic attacks on Hazara and some Tajik communities, all of which have contributed to deepening socio-political, economic and humanitarian crises across the country.
For the past three years, Afghanistan’s prominent political figures, civil society activists, women’s rights activists, and international policymakers have been seeking a viable solution to the ongoing socio-political crises that have plagued the country for centuries. It is evident that the centralised governance model, focused solely on failed nation-building and monoethnic nationalist politics, has failed, as demonstrated by the Taliban’s Pashtun-centric government, a direct outcome of this system. The Taliban’s takeover presents a crucial window of opportunity for policymakers and political scientists to explore decentralised governance methods that could address the needs of all citizens of Afghanistan from north to south and east to west, ensuring no one is left behind. While federalism is not without its challenges and no political system is perfect, it represents a viable option for Afghanistan.
However, no issue has gathered more attention than the plight of women in Afghanistan, which has been a focal point of politicians, policymakers, the public, and scholars, not only since the Taliban’s resurgence but also during the preceding Republican era, where despite the limited advancements, Afghanistan was one of the worst places to be a woman. Following the 9/11 attacks, the US and its allies intervened in Afghanistan, briefly disrupting entrenched systems of injustice, repression, human rights abuses, and socio-political crisis. This intervention initiated a period where principles such as equality, inclusivity, liberty, and democracy began to emerge, providing women with limited opportunities for empowerment and advancement.
Despite these “advances,” the gains in women’s rights remained fragile, ignored by the government, and unevenly distributed across the country. The superficial nature of the intervention meant that while some progress was made, particularly in urban areas, the underlying patriarchal and authoritarian structures were never fully dismantled across the country, especially in rural tribal areas. As a result, the re-emergence of the Taliban has rapidly undone many of these limited advancements. The change from women being present in some aspects of life to a sudden disappearance from the whole of society reveals not only the effects of war and political instability on women’s lives but also deep vulnerabilities in Afghanistan’s political and social fabric. This situation underscored and highlighted an urgent need for political reform and a more profound and sustained approach to addressing women’s rights—one that goes beyond temporary fixes and tackles the systemic issues at the heart of Afghanistan society.
International and local experts have frequently insisted that the forced democratisation of Afghanistan and the implementation of women’s rights empowerment policies would backfire, emphasising the importance of organic, internally-driven change. In the past 20 years, the international community’s and their allies’ efforts to consolidate a Weberian state or advance women’s rights in Afghanistan have often been criticized for their insufficient understanding of the country’s complex historical, societal, and cultural contexts. Unfortunately despite well-intentioned interventions and support, these efforts have frequently failed to address the deep-rooted tribal traditions and conservative values that shape Afghanistan society.
The discourse on women’s rights in Afghanistan has been significantly constrained by a lack of intersectional analysis, revealing substantial gaps in the understanding and representation of Afghanistan’s women. Predominant approaches by international actors and some women’s rights advocates have often framed the discussion within a narrow scope, overlooking critical historical and cultural contexts and needs. This reductionist narrative not only oversimplifies the experiences of women but also fails to recognize the diversity and complexity of their identities, ultimately homogenizing them under a singular “Afghan” identity.
Historically, the term “Afghan,” which originally referred to the Pashtuns or Pathans of India, was imposed on non-Pashtun groups during Afghanistan’s modernization and nation-making efforts. This imposition has reinforced Pashtun dominance over other ethnic groups such as the Hazaras, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Balochs, extending Pashtun hegemony beyond governance to the very identity of the nation’s diverse populace.
Considering the current catastrophe in Afghanistan, it is undeniable that change must originate from within Afghanistan and be driven by its people. However, it is equally undeniable that while change did occur in the past, it has often been neither enduring nor fundamental.
Since the emergence of modern Afghanistan, women’s rights have been closely linked to the ongoing tension between autonomous local communities and successive nation-building efforts. These centralising initiatives have often met with resistance, resulting in prolonged periods of conflict and instability. The battle for women’s rights in Afghanistan has been marked by a cyclical pattern of progress and regression, deeply intertwined with the country’s political, cultural and tribal dynamics. The origins of this struggle can be traced back to the early 20th century. The deeply entrenched tribal and ultra-conservative nature of certain ethnic groups has persistently undermined advancements in women’s rights. This form of resistance is evident across various historical periods which continues to impact current issues. Today, women in Afghanistan continue to face challenges rooted in these historical struggles.
For example, early 20th-century reforms under King Amanullah Khan aimed to expand educational opportunities for women but faced significant resistance from conservative tribal groups, such as the Jaji and Mengal. This opposition culminated in the Khost Rebellion (1924), also known as the Mangal Uprising, which was a direct reaction against the perceived threat of Westernization and modernization to traditional and religious values.
Political upheavals continued to disrupt women’s rights advancements during the brief rule of Habibullah Kalakani in 1928, where yet again political turmoil in the country led to the closure of educational institutions and severe restrictions on women’s public roles. Nader Shah’s rise to power in 1929 further deepened these setbacks by implementing policies that severely restricted women’s rights, such as the closure of schools and the enforcement of the full hijab. These measures were aimed at garnering support from the conservative masses to advance his political agenda, though they ultimately failed to achieve the desired outcomes.
The women’s rights achieved during Zahir Shah’s “Decade of Democracy” were similarly fragile. Despite improvements in women’s participation in public life and education, these advancements were vulnerable to shifting socio-political dynamics. In the subsequent communist regimes, policies on women’s rights were largely symbolic and met with substantial resistance from conservative tribal factions, highlighting persistent opposition to gender equality in Afghanistan.
The Mujahideen era further exemplified this cyclical regression. Amid ongoing civil war and instability, the Mujahideen enforced policies that mandated the segregation of women in workplaces and educational institutions, although these policies did not stop women’s education or employment, providing some limited rights. But still, this period too reinforced the cycle of restricted opportunities for women, driven by both persistent political turmoil and deeply ingrained conservative values. Collectively, all these historical patterns and many others underscore how political instability, governance structures, and entrenched religious and tribal traditions have frequently led to setbacks in advancing gender equality and women’s rights in Afghanistan.
The instances of resistance detailed previously illustrate that Afghanistan is a complex mosaic of diverse ethnic groups, tribes, and sub-tribes, each possessing unique cultural practices, languages, and socio-political ideologies. What may be acceptable to one group may not be to others or the broader society. Notably, resistance to modernization and women’s rights is not confined solely to ultraconservative factions. Women throughout Afghanistan’s history have also resisted and fought for their rights, often at great personal risk, transcending societal, cultural, and religious boundaries. The resistance of women since the fall of the republic on August 15, 2021, following the Taliban’s resurgence, is one of the examples. Women’s uprisings have emerged stronger than before, advocating for equal rights, opportunities, and political participation, reflecting both their enduring bravery and the complexity of their struggle for gender equality, leading to worldwide campaigns such as “Bread, Work, Freedom” and the recognition of “gender apartheid” as a crime against humanity.
To this day, the fundamental rights of women and girls in Afghanistan are frequently manipulated for political gain or undermined by traditional and religious principles, resulting in minimal progress in addressing gender inequality. The centralised political system—whether under kingship, communism, republic, democracy, or Islamism—has consistently failed to advance women’s rights or meet the diverse needs of Afghanistan’s population.
According to Christine Foster, “Governance structures—whether centralised, decentralised, federal, or unitary—play a crucial role in determining the extent to which women’s rights are recognized, protected, and enforced. Without a deliberate and informed approach to integrating women’s rights into the foundational design of political institutions, there is a risk that these rights will continue to be marginalised or, at best, treated as secondary concerns.”
Political experts on Afghanistan and academics such as David R. Cameron, Thomas Barfield, Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, Major Bryan E Carroll, and Mike Singer all are considering that a federal system of governance could more accurately reflect Afghanistan’s ethnic and cultural diversity and contribute towards economic sustainability, political inclusivity, equality, pluralism and peace. Afghanistan’s complex governance landscape—encompassing both formal local government structures and indigenous tribal systems—makes federalism a natural fit. The effective operation of customary governance at district and village levels highlights the practicality of adopting a federal model to integrate traditional authority with formal administrative frameworks.
Although previously not explored in Afghanistan, federal models have also been proposed by Afghanistan’s political leaders not only today but also in the past by various ethnic groups, including Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, and some Pashtuns. The federal model of governance offers a dual-layered framework that enables both federal and state-level legislation, effectively addressing Afghanistan’s diverse cultural contexts and needs. It enhances local representation and responsiveness by empowering subnational bodies, improving service delivery, and managing ethnic diversity.
The persistent challenges in advancing women’s rights underscore a crucial concern: the governance system, institutional frameworks, and judicial structures play a pivotal role in either upholding or impeding these rights. The sustainability of women’s rights is intricately linked to the nature of the political system. Consequently, decentralizing authority through a federal model could better accommodate Afghanistan’s complex ethnic and tribal landscape. Such a system would enable regional governments to craft policies that harmonize local traditions with the advancement of human rights, particularly focusing on women’s, political, and cultural rights for all citizens.
Shaira Karimi is a political analyst with the Afghanistan Federalist Assembly, formerly a geopolitical researcher at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Kalimullah Hamsukhan is a graduate of United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). Both writers sit on the Leadership Council of the Afghanistan Federalist Assembly.
