Joe Biden did a lot of shameful things during his Presidency. Perhaps the single most morally reprehensible action he took was to direct that we cut and run from Afghanistan and abandon the people of that nation to the tender mercies of a horde of Dark Age barbarians. As we wrestle with the implications of the encroachment of sharia law on our own society, it perhaps behooves us to take a good look at what the Taliban are doing in their Islamic Emirate and specifically how they are treating the women of Afghanistan.
“On August 2, 2025, Afghanistan International shared a video and published a Dari-language report saying that Mahmood Zakeri, an Islamic cleric associated with the Afghan Taliban regime, had defended the mass arrest of young women by Taliban authorities and reminding the women of Afghanistan that if they set foot outside their homes they are to look at the ground and nowhere else.”
Delivering a sermon partially in Pashto and partially in Dari at the Abdul Rahman Mosque in Kabul, Zakeri said that opposing the Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which enforces the Taliban's restrictions against women, is equivalent to opposing Allah and Prophet Muhammad.
Mahmood Zakeri, in his speech, cited hadiths and Quranic verses, and 29 minutes into the video – a section of which, italicized below, was also published by Afghanistan International – he says: ‘.. This very eye, which shari'a has permitted you, when you go outside, at the time of going out, you are allowed to have that very eye open; the rest of your face must be covered with jilbab [loose body covering] and hijab. If that very eye of yours is open, that eye must be on the path... You are not permitted [to look at] anything else; you do not have permission; you do not have the permission [to look anywhere else]. This is narrated in Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood [hadith collections]...’
‘When the Muslim woman leaves the house, when the Muslim woman speaks with someone, during that conversation, first, she observes the hijab of her body, and beyond the body hijab, she also maintains an additional covering. When she goes to a doctor, she goes to a mufti and asks for a fatwa [religious decree] from him, she goes to a judge and explains a problem to him... or she goes to someone else, she should not sit face to face with him, even if she is in hijab. There must be a curtain [i.e., barrier] between her and the man...’”
MEMRI
In point of fact, there is nothing new about this edict. It is completely in line with the provisions of something known as the “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice,” imposed by the Taliban. Let’s break down in full what this medieval edict means for women in the Islamic Emirate that we are told represents the desired endstate for the entire world.
Women, as noted, cannot leave the house without a male relative.
When they do leave the house, they must be fully covered. Only their eyes may show. The most current interpretations of this law now suggest that a woman should wear a patch over one eye. She only needs one to see where she is going.
A woman can only look at the ground. A woman who looks anywhere else is sinful.
A woman’s voice should not be able to be heard beyond the minimum distance required for her to carry on her business in public. Even if she is in her own home, a woman must be careful to not raise her voice so as to allow it to be heard outside the home.
When in her own home, a woman must avoid allowing herself to be seen from outside. Windows must be covered. If she allows herself to be seen by those outside, she is in violation of the Koran.
Women are banned from high school and university.
Beauty parlors have been closed. Lipstick is forbidden anywhere.
Virtually all employment is forbidden to women.
This is not about culture. It’s about erasing women from public life. It is about the literal imprisonment of one-half of the population. Not apartheid, not chattel slavery ever dared take such a horrifying step.
There is a saying in the Pashto language: A woman’s place is either inside the house or in the grave. This is not just a saying. It is the core principle on which the Taliban has built its rule. A woman has no right to work. A woman has no right to education.
A wife is the literal property of her husband, to whom she is often married well before puberty. Once she goes to live with her husband in his family’s home, a wife is also subject to the control and discipline of her husband’s family, particularly the older women. Wives are routinely beaten by their husbands and their female relatives.
“Men are not the only ones guilty of perpetrating violence against women in these regions. In our tribe, women also use violence against other women. Older women regularly oppress younger girls in terms of how they dress and how the resources inside the house are used. When a woman enters her husband’s house upon marriage, all decisions about how she dresses, when she can visit her relatives, whether she can join family events, and how she does chores come under the authority of the older women of the family. On one occasion when I was travelling in my province, I noticed that most of the young women covered their faces by holding part of their hijab between their teeth so it would not fall off and reveal their faces. Only their eyes were visible. When I asked one of them about this, she told me that it was a custom; when a new bride enters her in-laws’ house, she must cover her face from everyone at all times until her mother-in-law gives her permission to uncover it.”
“In some households, the order in which the women eat is also different from that of the men. In our province, women are not allowed to eat at the same time as the men and on the same food cloth. Instead, the women prepare the food, take it to the food cloth, and then return to the kitchen to wait. Since children are dependent on women, they don’t eat either. Only when the men and older women have finished eating can the other women and the children of the household eat what’s left over.”
Essays Of A Girl Sold Into Marriage
Women can be stoned to death for seeking a divorce.
To enforce this madness, the Taliban indoctrinates young boys and encourages them to inform on their mothers if they violate “religious law” inside their homes. “What we are witnessing is the Taliban institutionalising gender hatred by weaponising boys against women,” said Shukria Barakzai, a former Afghan MP and former ambassador to Norway, now living in exile. “Boys are taught from a young age that control and punishment of their mothers is legitimate. This isn’t just policy — it’s psychological warfare targeting the fabric of Afghan families.”
The Taliban just celebrated its continued rule in Afghanistan. In the civilized world, I hope to God we all know there is nothing to celebrate. And, I pray all those individuals who want to pretend that this kind of evil represents a legitimate “lifestyle choice” or is simply a matter of “culture” find the courage to recognize the truth. It is pure evil. When we left Afghanistan, we abandoned every female in that nation to a life of perpetual hell.
Thanks for showing how truly shameful the American abandonment of Afghanistan was. It looks like a similar Sharia hell is scheduled on the menu in many European countries, where women and girls are being raped if they go out in public "improperly dressed" and without a male relative.
I agree everything about the illegitimate Biden admin was shameful and the withdrawal was the icing on the cake with no regard for the lives lost, maimed and money spent. However, have we not learned that we cannot impose our civilization upon the Islamic world? I am sorry for their situation but the change has to come from within their society. The best thing we can do is withdraw all support and ban the culture from invading our world. I feel the same about Ukraine. It is a farce and the so called leaders who don’t want peace have ulterior motives which suit them and not the men and women who have to fight and suffer the consequences.