Afghan-Canadian author Mina Sharif reveals the brutal realities women face under the Taliban—bans on education, books, and dreams—while exposing the global silence and hypocrisy that allows oppression to continue.
Afghan-Canadian author and women’s rights activist Mina Sharif has spent over a decade immersed in Afghan society, witnessing firsthand the triumphs and struggles of women navigating a complex and often oppressive landscape. In an exclusive conversation with Asianet Newsable English’s Heena Sharma, Sharif reflects on the stark contrast between the hope she saw in Kabul during her time there and the despair women now face under the Taliban regime.
From Hope to Suppression
Sharif moved to Kabul in 2005, after growing up in Canada as part of the Afghan diaspora. She lived in Afghanistan for 14 years until 2019, a period she describes as one of remarkable resilience and rapid progress for women in society.
“When I first arrived in Afghanistan, it was very soon after the first round of Taliban. And initially in my earlier years, there was a lot of hesitation from women to participate in society, to really be out. I mean, they were coming from years of really intense suffering,” she recalls.
Yet change came quickly. Women began taking active roles in public life, contributing to various sectors and even assuming leadership positions.
“We would have women so actively participating that you could, from one day hardly seeing them in public spaces, in society, to really seeing them at almost a 50-50 in every sector, not necessarily by job position, but by representation. They were really taking leadership roles and actively contributing to society.”
But today, that opportunity has been stripped away.
“What I see and hear now is not a loss of that drive to be part of society, but the loss of the opportunity not only to do it, but to even dream about doing it. And that is continuously cut off further by the decrees that keep piling up on them,” Sharif notes.
Bans, Isolation, and the Taliban’s Agenda
Sharif highlights the recent Taliban decrees, such as banning women-authored books and restricting education in gender studies, sociology, and human rights.
“That’s obviously their goal, is isolation, erasure, lack of opportunity, and really crippling the women of Afghanistan, because it’s not only Afghan women authors or women authors in general that they can’t read from. It’s the subject matter that they’re isolating as well,” she explains.
The Taliban’s strategy is clear: isolate women until they no longer demand their rights.
“I think their hope is that with time and the continued ignoring from the rest of the world, they can isolate women to the extent that they’re no longer demanding those rights because they don’t know to. I think that’s the ultimate goal.”
Yet Sharif remains hopeful. Afghan women have historically resisted such control, maintaining secret schools, teaching literacy, writing poetry, and passing on knowledge even under previous Taliban rule.
“I don’t think that they have the control over Afghan women that they dream of having, and I don’t think they ever fully will,” she asserts.
A Glimpse Into Daily Life
Sharif’s new book, Your War, Our Lives, offers fictionalised stories that capture the daily realities of Afghan women.
“There’s so many books out there that can kind of enlighten people on the history of Afghanistan, how we got here, how women are treated. My book was meant to offer a glimpse into what daily life really looked like for people, especially in the era that I was there,” she says.
The stories follow characters navigating fear and limitations, from women running television shows to children living in orphanages. Sharif emphasises the nuance:
“I follow their successes, but also want to illustrate that it has never been fully easy just because the opportunities arose. It still came with combating mindsets and combating security threats and combating all kinds of things.”
The Role of the International Community
Sharif criticises the global response to the Taliban, highlighting the hypocrisy of promoting “opportunities” such as handicrafts while denying women access to education and professional careers.
“Offering the option of handicrafts to somebody who wanted to be a doctor is highly insulting, and it’s very whitewashing of the infringement of human rights that’s going on in Afghanistan,” she states.
She points to nations like India engaging with the Taliban economically, effectively legitimizing their rule.
“When we stop giving them the power, that is when we can talk about solutions on alternatives. But we can’t just talk about how do we get rid of them while still uplifting them,” Sharif argues.
Resilience vs. Rights
Sharif challenges the narrative that frames Afghan women solely as “resilient.” While acknowledging their courage, she emphasizes that resilience is not the same as justice.
“All they’re doing is not dying. They don’t want to be resilient. They want rights. They want prosperity. They want to be able to… I mean, and there’s two conversations,” she explains.
She urges the international community to demand that engagement with the Taliban be conditional on human rights compliance.
“When we see a government conducting this kind of violation, we have to say, although we want this with you, it has to be on the condition that you do not violate human rights this way.”
A Call to Keep Voices Alive
Sharif’s message is clear: Afghan women are not asking for sympathy—they are demanding their rights.
“Please stand with us. Demand it for us. And also, it will carry out into the rest of the world. I think in particularly the West is ignoring it as if it’s never going to get over here (and) it will. And that’s the scariest part, I think, is that people are, I think, uplifting the behavior as well.”
She laments the world’s fleeting attention.
“When Kabul fell, it was a very hot topic. A lot of people are putting out statements condemning Taliban. But now people don’t seem to care about Afghanistan. And I think our international bodies need to do more about it.”
Through her words, Sharif ensures that the voice of Afghan women continues to resonate, even amid silencing efforts. Their dreams may be temporarily suppressed, but they endure—and so does the call for justice.