Taliban leader claims Afghan women have ‘free, comfortable, prosperous life’

The supreme leader of the Taliban released a message on Sunday claiming that his government has taken the necessary steps for the betterment of women’s lives in Afghanistan, where women are banned from public life and work and girls’ education is severely curtailed.

The statement from Hibatullah Akhundzada was made public ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday, which will be celebrated later this week in Afghanistan and other Islamic countries.

Akhundzada, an Islamic scholar, rarely appears in public or leaves the Taliban heartland in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province. He surrounds himself with other religious scholars and allies who oppose education and work for women.

In his Eid message Akhundzada said that under the rule of the Islamic Emirate, concrete measures have been taken to save women from many traditional oppressions, including forced marriages, “and their sharia rights have been protected”.

Moreover, “necessary steps have been taken for the betterment of women as half of society in order to provide them with a comfortable and prosperous life according to the Islamic sharia,” the message continued.

Lately, Akhundzada appears to have taken a stronger hand in directing domestic policy, banning girls’ education after the sixth grade and barring Afghan women from public life and work, especially for non-governmental organisations and the United Nations.

The message was distributed in five languages: Arabic, Dari, English, Pashto and Urdu. Akhundzada said the negative aspects of the previous 20-year occupation related to women’s wearing of the hijab and “misguidance” will end soon.