The 21 million women and girls the world forgot
Summary
Five years after the Taliban seized Kabul, journalist Zahra Joya reflects on the systematic erasure of Afghan women’s rights in this Guardian episode. Joya recounts her childhood disguise as a boy to access education and her harrowing escape from Afghanistan as the regime collapsed. The discussion highlights current restrictions, including bans on education and employment, while featuring anonymous testimonies from women enduring severe repression inside the country.
Topics discussed
Introduction: The fall of Kabul and five years of silence
Overview of Taliban edicts restricting women's rights
Testimonies: Education bans, domestic violence, and suicide
Zahra's childhood: Dressing as a boy to attend school
Post-2001 era: Journalism, Rukshana Media, and US withdrawal
The chaotic evacuation: Zahra's escape from Kabul
Underground reporting: Risks faced by journalists inside Afghanistan
Global abandonment: Normalization of Taliban and visa bans
Life in exile: Coping with trauma and hope for return
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