‘I begged them, my daughter was dying’: how Taliban male escort rules are killing mothers and babies

[IwantToRetire]

Heartbreaking.

Yet another example of how Taliban fundamentalism is not just destroying women's right to an equal life, but is actually killing them.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/apr/03/i-begged-them-my-daughter-was-dying-how-taliban-male-escort-rules-are-killing-mothers-and-babies

People predicted this and it’s happened. I can’t express my rage and sorrow for those families.

The Taliban are just evil, and I cannot imagine having to live in such hellish circumstances. "Evil" is not strong enough really, but I don't have the words.

Shame on the international sports community who continues to compete against Afghanistan men’s teams, while ignoring this issue. I guess it’s just not as important as apartheid in South Africa

Dear god, what did I just read? Those poor, poor women.

It is so disgusting it is hard to take in. That we live in a world where this happens.

I think what struck me after the awfulness of what turned out to be the last few hours of the daughter's life was knowing that in some future, young men on guard duty or whatever, in any other number of countries, would happily implement policies like these.

Even in nothing else, knowing that the UK as a country / society is less and less influenced by religion, is a small comfort.

Other countries may not have gone as far as Afghanistan, but there are examples of how in some countries religious beliefs are now being used as the basis for new laws.

But as been discussed on the many threads there has been on FWR about Afghanistan, it seems there is very little any of us can do, such is the isolation of women there from the outside world. And indeen their own.

Oh come on! It's only women. It can't matter as much as a cricket match!😩

This is dystopian nightmare. Those poor women. Forced to endure almost permanent child bearing from girlhood in abject poverty is horrendous in itself, but to have this misery and terror on top is inhumane. These men and their ideology just need to die.

It’s so fucking barbaric it’s unbearable. Those poor poor women and seemingly there’s fuck all we can do about it.

I read it this morning and actually teared up. And I'm a hard nut to crack. It's abhorrent.

I keep asking myself but WHY are they so inhumane, WHY do they hate women so much? Other very oppressive cultures do seem to allow women to train with women to be midwives etc. Don’t these men feel any affection at all for their mothers and daughters???

It's very strange. If they carry on, there won't be any women left to perpetuate their male fantasy country. They will all die.

The window thing was crazy, this is inhumane.

If it were possible for other countries to offer an asylum route for all women living in Afghanistan, I'd be up for it. It's genocide.

I suppose one aspect of it is the more isolated as a country Afghanistan becomes, the easier it if for extreme male religious fervour to take hold.

That's not to say I am suggesting that interaction with western cultures is the best thing that could happen, but to think that they might be more likely to shift their thinking if they were a more open to other Muslim countries..

No amount of reading articles about the situation really helps because what is currenlty happening in addition to the direct attack on women's rights is incresing the level of poverty and lack of access to health care, and shortages. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/war-afghanistan

How can any group still go on thinking what they are doing is right when the country is facing such hardships.

So if, in the name of their religious beliefs, they are prepared to make everyone suffer it isn't surprising sadly that women are being made to suffer the worst.

Not that this will help

According to the current US tariff schedule, Afghan goods exported to the United States are now subject to a 49 percent customs duty.
https://www.afintl.com/en/202504036923

The Taliban are entirely capable of thinking that the economy doesn't matter as long as God's law is followed. It won't occur to them to wonder if the dire economic straits they come to is not their God's way of saying 'idiots, don't be so bloody stupid, you are not following my wishes but the will of men - stop it now', because they don't think like that and they appear to have no prophets to point it out.

@Grammarnut I cannot fathom their motivations to be honest. Is it really down to religion? Obviously what they follow is not Islamic doctrine, but some warped version of it, but that aside, are they doing this to women because they genuinely believe it is what God wants? Or do they have other, male human motivations like misogyny and power? Or is it two fingers up to the west and what they perhaps see as western values?

And today we have this. I despair. The Home Office really is not fit for purpose😡

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/apr/05/afghan-rights-defender-told-she-faces-no-risk-from-taliban-as-home-office-denies-asylum

That’s obscene.

Women in Afghanistan are now only allowed to breathe.

I haven’t seen a single march organised by British Muslims in solidarity with their afghan sisters.

Yes. I have said this many times on here. This is likely to be happening every day. With no education or training for girls there will be no midwives or female doctors. I am not sure if women, or girls post puberty, can be treated by male doctors, even if they can find a male relative to take them to hospital.
With no perinatal care more and more women will die in childbirth. Dying in childbirth is a particularly hellish form of torture. Only extreme hatred and contempt for women would sanction it. It is absolutely ignorant barbarism.

I am beginning to think that women are going to be killing themselves and/or female newborns because they will see it as a better option. The brutality is horrific.

The lessons being taught in the world right now are scary: you can be the biggest shits in the world, and behave in a manner not countenanced by civilised behaviour, and you know what? The rest of the world will just look away. Whether it's Trump, or Putin, or Xi, or the fucking Taliban; they are all as bad as each other. And they are all getting away with it through international cowardice.

The birth rate in Afghanistan is really high though so despite high infant mortality/ maternal death rates there will be girls / women sadly. The poor woman in the article was having her 8th child. She could easily have 3 or 4 daughters who can be sold into marriage within the next few years. Girls are getting forced into marriage incredibly young.

It’s truely awful. I feel like the women and girls of Afghanistan were promised so much. Education, equality, choices, the right to be heard and they’ve been thrown to the wolves.

That’s true. I feel like we are in a period of experimentation. How far can people be pushed and still comply? How many lies can they be told and the people will still believe? How much money can be made whilst the poor fight for the scraps? I do feel like the world has changed for the worst over the last decade.

Has anyone read the thread on AIBU about the Afghan women?

It’s heartbreaking, if you read it, you’ll see the problem and uncaring isin’t only in Afghanistan, it extens to here also.
Abandoned by pretty much everyone….

I can’t believe what I just read. This is Hell on Earth.