Let the Birds Sing

Megha Mahesh dissects the controversial new penal code introduced by the Taliban in Afghanistan and its dangerous ramifications for women in Afghan society

“A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not in public. This is extraordinary. This is a suppression of the natural law” - Meryl Streep [1] 

A man may face fifteen days in prison if he beats his wife and children to the point of fractured bones or opened wounds [2]. A woman, by contrast, is not to be heard in public nor in her house without being punished [3]. She is not to be educated, employed or seen in Taliban-governed Afghanistan. 

The new penal code approved by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada worsens the conditions of half of the population living in modern-day Afghanistan [4]. Since August 2021, women have been confronted with restrictions to every pathway to autonomy. Girls have been banned from attaining an education past the age of twelve, despite the Taliban promising admission to secondary schools more than four years ago [1].Without education, unemployment is inevitable for most women who cannot turn to home businesses or the limited training programs that remain. As global sanctioning tightens and humanitarian donations decline, the Afghan economy struggles further due to the pre-existing workforce gender gap [5]. While 90% of men seek employment, only 25% of women do the same [6]. The United Nations highlights one of the many flaws of this mandate–the erosion of healthcare for girls and women. In Afghanistan, women may only be treated by female doctors. However, by dismantling the institutions that could allow women to pursue a career in healthcare, female doctors will become a rare commodity [7].

Even with education, a woman would face multiple obstacles due to their erasure in Afghan public life. They are banned from every decision-making capacity, from national affairs to household matters. Visiting public parks, baths and gyms are prohibited, and taxis can only be taken with a male guardian following a woman’s concealment of their face and body [8]. In 2024, the Taliban’s moral police–the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of the Vice Ministry–institutionalised the silence of women in public arenas, even barring the sound of a woman from her own home [8]. Ruling a woman’s voice as “intimate”, women cannot sing, recite poetry or read in public [3][9]. When Meryl Streep criticised the discrepancy between a cat’s freedom and a girl surviving under Taliban rule, a Taliban spokesperson retorted that they would “never compare them (women) to cats” as women are “highly respected” [1]. The cat, however, is granted what women are denied–a face, a voice, a visible presence. 

The penal code released in 2026 legalises domestic abuse, corporal punishment,  class-based discrimination and slavery. It undermines any progress that the nation, among one of the first nations in 1919 to grant women the right to vote, has made [10]. Yet, like they did in 1919, the Afghan women refuse to back down. The onslaught of laws and fears of imprisonment have moved protests to the digital space, with many women documenting injustice in hopes that the world will one day keep the terrorist organisation accountable [11]. In the absence of education, underground schools in private homes have been resurrected to fuel the young generation’s hope for the future. For those unable to leave home, teachers from all over the world use secure platforms to deliver online classes, battling the constant struggle of internet blackouts [12]. Others turn to creativity for solace, sharing artworks online to maintain a sense of identity or generate a stream of income [13].  In spite of the international silence, the people of Afghanistan have yet to surrender. 

Shortly after the fall of Kabul, The Economist published an article titled “Why nations that fail women fail.” They list some measurable byproducts resultant of excluding women in a nation’s social fabric: female infanticide leading to male-dominated communities being frustrated at their single status and being vulnerable to a life of crime; bride prices and child marriage deepening poverty and thus limiting education for children’ national fragility as the result of sexism. Yet, these pragmatic arguments repackage injustice and inequalit

y as being detrimental for men or the community. Women’s rights are only considered when they inconvenience others. These explanations are unnecessary when the conclusion of the article is enough – when half the population is failed, the nation will fail. 

by Megha Mahesh

References

[1] Ng, K. (2024). Afghanistan: Cats have more freedom than women, says Meryl Streep. Bbc.com. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr54d3qd5r7o

[2] Akhtar Makoii (2026). Taliban allows men to beat wives – so long as they don’t break bones. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/19/taliban-allow-men-to-beat-wives-so-long-dont-breaak-bones/.

[3] Kelly, A. and Joya, Z. (2024). ‘Frightening’ Taliban law bans women from speaking in public. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/26/taliban-bar-on-afghan-women-speaking-in-public-un-afghanistan.

[4] data.worldbank.org. (n.d.). Population, female (% of total population) - Afghanistan | Data. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.FE.ZS?locations=AF.

[5] Center for Preventive Action (2025). War in Afghanistan. Global Conflict Tracker. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/war-afghanistan.

[6] UN Women (2025). FAQs: What it’s like to be a woman in Afghanistan in 2025 | UN Women – Headquarters. UN Women – Headquarters. https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/faqs/faqs-afghanistan.

[7] United Nations (2025). Four years on, here’s what total exclusion of women in Afghanistan looks like. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165622.

[8] Limaye, Y. (2024). Taliban ban Afghanistan women from raising voices. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20rq73p3z4o.

[9] Grounds, E. and Patidar, S. (2024). The Taliban has banned the sound of women’s voices in Afghanistan. But these women want to be heard - ABC News. ABC News. 17 Sep. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-18/afghanistan-taliban-ban-women-voice-but-some-want-to-be-heard/104359548.

[10] Medica Mondiale (2023). Nine facts on women’s rights in Afghanistan. medicamondiale.org. https://medicamondiale.org/en/where-we-empower-women/afghanistan.

[11] Sara (2025). How we women of Afghanistan are defying Taliban repression. Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/how-we-women-of-afghanistan-are-defying-taliban-dispatches/ 

[12] Shvets L, Muneeb M (2025). These girls are only able to study in secret. For many, their ‘last hope’ is being taken away. SBS News.https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/afghanistan-study-secret-online-taliban-internet-ban/x60fs025y [Accessed 25 Feb. 2026].

[13] Drury, F. (2025). Women in Afghanistan: Spend a day with those living under Taliban rule. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c0l16424w1pt.

[14] The Economist (2021). Why nations that fail women fail. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/09/11/why-nations-that-fail-women-fail?utm_medium=cpc.adword.pd&utm_source=google&ppccampaignID=22628386695&ppcadID=&utm_campaign=a.22brand_pmax&utm_content=conversion.direct-response.anonymous&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22634604197&gbraid=0AAAAADBuq3LaIwV31BdlDeujP0xxzwoSi&gclid=CjwKCAiAkvDMBhBMEiwAnUA9BYZK5sawRUHCuvyqf1VA4vGHUzAgvCjgRZ_NELSJ7FN0IXuUmbpilBoC-dsQAvD_BwE