Taliban banning college books written by women

Item on women's hour this morning on the new penal code that the Taliban have enacted.

A woman going to visit her relatives without her husband's permission is now an offence. Domestic violence is now de facto permissable so long as it does leave an open wound. More here

https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-02-25/the-talibans-new-penal-code-two-weeks-days-in-jail-for-breaking-a-womans-arm-and-five-months-for-mistreating-a-camel.html

The Taliban have also now launched airstrikes against Pakistan in retaliation for airstrike s they carried out a few weeks ago said to be targeting militant camps

Nuala never gives anyone a hard time. Just tells them she loves their new book / song / unoriginal thoughts. Poor excuse for a journalist. Same with the other one (forgotten her name).

I feel a bit useless posting links to articles who talk about how terrible life has become for women in Afghanistan but maybe keeping it in the public eye is a small part of challenging it.

But would like more countries to be putting pressure on the Taliban, although not sure what they would respend to.

As this seems to be the currently active thread about women in Afghanistan adding this link.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/01/25/the-challenge-of-medical-access-in-rural-afghanistan-before-the-clinic-was-set-up-we-used-to-give-birth-at-home-and-three-or-four-women-died-every-month_6749786_4.html

Archive link https://archive.is/HD0Rj

I loathe and despise Yanis Varoufakis so much. He thinks he is a hugely intellectual Great Thinking Man.

I really really wish there was something we could do for women and girls in Afghanistan aside of donate to the teaching programmes and bring attention to their plight.

I would like, for eg, to swap every single male Afghan asylum seeker for a woman (4, right 😜) to come here instead.

ETA: i made this suggestion elsewhere. And was told i was evil for wanting to send men back there... I DGAF about them, tbh, until the women are free and safe.

Shades of Harvey Weinstein going on the women's march in 2017

https://x.com/jodikantor/status/916103297097961472?lang=en

'has written a book about how he used to be a male chauvinist pig, but he isn't now'

😶

Thanks for this. There's actually a whole load more about the Taliban and the position of women in Afghanistan,

On the cricket non boycott by the men's teams

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5282396-england-play-afghanistan-at-cricket

Child marriage

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5287087-women-in-afghanistan-rukshana-media-reports-child-attempting-suicide-over-forced-marriage

Earthquake Rescuers refusing to assist women and leaving them to die lest they sinfully make contact with one

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5406366-afghan-women-die-after-earthquake-because-male-rescuers-wont-touch-women

Links to Afghan women's charities

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5328230-afghan-women-charities

The Taliban turning off the internet

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5417636-taliban-turning-off-the-internet

Women in the Afghan mental health system
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5394905-no-one-comes-for-us-the-women-trapped-in-afghanistans-mental-health-system

Women's radio taken off air

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5275155-afghanistan-radio-begum-taken-off-air-staff-detained

Taliban instentence on male escorts and the link to maternal deaths

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5307825-i-begged-them-my-daughter-was-dying-how-taliban-male-escort-rules-are-killing-mothers-and-babies

I post these here (there are others), because this morning Yanis Varoufakis was on Woman's Hour. He has written a book about how he used to be a male chauvinist pig, but he isn't now, because he's met some Really Great Women, and you know there's this thing called toxic masculinity and it's Really Bad. And you know we need to respect the women's. His mother was a scientist you know. And he really likes strong women.

This was the same man who tweeted his glee at the return of the Taliban in 2021 (in a deal cut by Trump, but implemented by Biden) and his response to the ensuing catastrophe women were facing was "Hang on in there, sisters!"

https://x.com/yanisvaroufakis/status/1427012544523296774?lang=en

I would have thought the host Nuala McGovern, might have at least thought to ask , given his mother was a scientist or whatever, if he'd given much thought to the sisters lately. But no, not from what I heard.

Hadn't seen this. So horrific and so depressing.

Even the so called civilised countries do nothing as it's only women innit.

Thanks for highlighting this OP.

It's horrific.

Just in case OP thinks its odd no one else has responded there are some recent threads where this has been discussed, along with other decisions by the taliban oppression of women.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5417636-taliban-turning-off-the-internet

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5410736-bbc-is-reporting-on-women-dying-in-childbirth-in-afghanistan

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5241362-taliban-ngos-employing-women-will-be-banned-building-should-not-have-windows-that-women-can-be-seen

And quite a few more but MN's search function is not very good!

Thanks for finding and posting these, I’d seen one article about this but not the others. And their government are still pretending that it’s not about systematically erasing women from all aspects of public life.