Taliban leaders are currently implementing a raft of discriminatory measures to effectively erase women’s participation in civil life in Afghanistan. For many women around the world, such measures are unthinkable, almost impossible to comprehend. In Afghanistan, the changes are not surprising given its past experiences of the Taliban, but they are nevertheless profoundly terrifying.

The measures are forcing Afghanistan backward, limiting the engagement of around half its population at a time in which one of its largest humanitarian crises is underway—a crisis that will only be made worse through measures involving, for example, barring women from returning to their jobs, requiring a male relative to accompany them in public spaces, prohibiting women from using public transport on their own, imposing a strict dress code on women and girls, and preventing girls over the age of 12 from returning to their education. The outlook is grim, made worse by reports of female protesters being abused, detained, or even having disappeared for publicly voicing their disagreement to the changes.