Afghan Women Unseen: Five Years Under Taliban Rule

Five years after US troops left Afghanistan, the approximately 25 million women and girls in the country remain subject to an exceptionally wide series of exclusions from education, work, public space, mobility and political life. For many, life has been getting worse and has become largely restricted to the privacy of their homes since wide-ranging powers to punish so-called acts of vice became codified in law two years ago. In this edition, we seek to understand what it’s really like to be female under the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2026, and what hopes might exist for a lifting of the many restrictions. As always, we invite you to join us in seeing where our intentions and prayers may be most needed.

Intentions and prayers start at 17 minutes 21 seconds.

Suggested Intention Focus for this week

This week, as we reflect on the reality of life for women and girls living in Afghanistan in 2026, we suggest holding as our main intention:

We ask that all Afghan women and girls living under the constant observation of morality police will have courage and know that they are esteemed and advocated for by many millions of people around the world.

Please join us in holding this.

Previous episode related to this episode:

Men Behaving Badly: Leaders Who Play The Religious Card, https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-s4zbu-18e6f49

Chapter markers:

00:00:00            Introduction

00:01:25            Afghan Women Under Taliban Rule

00:05:23            Mobility, Dress, and Public Life