Taliban masks oppression of Afghan women with propaganda and selective foreign outreach

While covering the Taliban’s five-year rule anniversary, a correspondent noted that women are virtually invisible on Kabul’s streets and must obtain male approval for travel, work, and education, with many forced into clandestine home-based enterprises. Taliban spokespeople highlight reduced bombings and a decline in poppy cultivation, urging the world to ignore reports of gender oppression. Activists such as Zahra Joya and former president Hamid Karzai stress that schools for girls remain shut and that over 200 restrictive edicts persist.

The regime is courting foreign influencers and using refugee negotiations as bargaining chips for aid, while international sanctions and ICC arrest warrants remain in place. The piece argues that this sophisticated propaganda seeks to normalize what the UN calls gender apartheid, urging the global community to recognize the ongoing human-rights crisis.