We want to give you some context on this video. Back in the mid 1990s, the Taliban emerged as a newly formed Islamic group inside of Afghanistan and took over the country. They were radically conservative with a very narrow and ignorant interpretation of Islam, For example, women must be fully veiled in public and cannot be outside the home without a male relative present; women cannot drive or work outside the home; girls over the age of 10 years cannot go to school; men must wear beards and traditional clothing; music, television, films and dancing are all sinful and were banned. Because Osama Bin Laden was hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan on September 11, 2001, the U.S. military invaded that country when trying to kill Bin Laden and the Taliban lost control.

For the next two decades, the United States assisted the government of Afghanistan in trying to establish a democratic government while fighting against Taliban militia groups who tried to return to power through violence. During these past two decades, Afghanistan was a relatively progressive country that was governed by secular laws. Women had full rights, for example, and music, film, television, and other components of Western culture were wide spread and enjoyed by the people. Many women chose to not be covered at all, during these two decades, but most wore hijabs and head scarves (although they were not required to do so).

Last August (2021), the Taliban once again swept into power and imprisoned or killed many of the progressive Afghans who were working with Western governments. (Afghans who worked with SOC 119 and World in Conversation had to flee from the Taliban because they would have been killed had they been caught.) And once again the Taliban imposed their radical version of Islam onto the Afghan people. And although they are not as radical as they were in earlier years, the Taliban’s version of Islam is today rejected by the vast majority of Afghans.

This video that you are about to watch was filmed during the Winter/Spring of 2022, about 6-7 months after the Taliban came into power (in August 2021), and it focuses on the Taliban’s treatment of women.

It’s a rather disturbing video but we will talk about it in class.