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![An Afghan women weaves silk to make scarfs and other products inside a workshop in the Zandajan district of Herat province. Many Afghan girls fear the longer they stay away from school, the more pressure will build to conform to patriarchal standards and marry. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/5MV6AB7YSFJ2Y2JWQ3NFTSD6LM.jpg?smart=true&auth=33edaad13274ea2e509fddff077dbde251bf5f7e0bb110b97484392505c8ed21&width=400&height=225)
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![Afghan women protest in Kabul. The lives of Afghan women and girls are being destroyed by the Taliban’s crackdown on their human rights, Amnesty has said. AP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZIEOFZHJCKVDJP6ZXKNARJUAGU.jpg?smart=true&auth=4d0e05d3e39c129c1c128a6078f2ff232b28d679f43a99ed0e6d244ffa00419f&width=400&height=225)
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![Shgofe, an Afghan newscaster, presents a programme on private channel 1TV in Kabul. Female TV presenters and reporters in Afghanistan continue to appear with their faces covered to comply with a mandate issued by the Taliban. EPA](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/WOCJHKLTFSYPTZSWOWYVICGGUY.jpg?smart=true&auth=777ca419213a112f3d3f0e47176d1bff9ee244ca4f1c182466a731d110fe7419&width=400&height=225)
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![Brides wait for the start of a mass wedding in Kabul. Dozens of Afghan women, concealed in thick green shawls, were married off in an austere ceremony attended by hundreds of guests and gun-toting Taliban fighters. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/R3OJGZSD4VZKWDWKPEZVDADBTY.jpg?smart=true&auth=2fb9ec01e2a290e6227508209ce3d1288164c724726969962589f3e0dd9aff1b&width=400&height=225)
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![An Afghan women weaves silk to make scarfs and other products inside a workshop in the Zandajan district of Herat province. Many Afghan girls fear the longer they stay away from school, the more pressure will build to conform to patriarchal standards and marry. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/5MV6AB7YSFJ2Y2JWQ3NFTSD6LM.jpg?smart=true&auth=33edaad13274ea2e509fddff077dbde251bf5f7e0bb110b97484392505c8ed21&width=400&height=225)
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![An Afghan woman begs as Taliban fighters stand guard in Kabul. Amnesty International says the Taliban have breached women's and girls' rights to education, work and free movement since they took control of the government. EPA](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MX33I6FDFXLFGQRPKQO5JITWDQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=fe35c51e7cef4054579a4ac6098bf8912b7c9b91791edfca569b1b46b86069c2&width=400&height=225)
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![Shgofe, an Afghan newscaster, presents a programme on private channel 1TV in Kabul. Female TV presenters and reporters in Afghanistan continue to appear with their faces covered to comply with a mandate issued by the Taliban. EPA](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/WOCJHKLTFSYPTZSWOWYVICGGUY.jpg?smart=true&auth=777ca419213a112f3d3f0e47176d1bff9ee244ca4f1c182466a731d110fe7419&width=400&height=225)
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![People at Wazir Akbar Khan Hill in Kabul. Whether Afghan girls receive an education under the Taliban is turning into an issue of wealth, young women living under the regime say. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TWRKZZWRHGTEJOKJVJ3H47YTPQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=09892841992b4092852274ac80ad048b736c7007669235d4ea2e339d554b853a&width=400&height=225)
![Women browse through garments and fabrics for sale in a stall at a women's handicraft market in Herat. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/QKXDCCLAHWZC3D5TJD2Z7QU6PM.jpg?smart=true&auth=af967718c6714a732da84d2beab30ca67ee9b6b32194cf8db574a1fe451515d5&width=400&height=225)
![Brides wait for the start of a mass wedding in Kabul. Dozens of Afghan women, concealed in thick green shawls, were married off in an austere ceremony attended by hundreds of guests and gun-toting Taliban fighters. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/R3OJGZSD4VZKWDWKPEZVDADBTY.jpg?smart=true&auth=2fb9ec01e2a290e6227508209ce3d1288164c724726969962589f3e0dd9aff1b&width=400&height=225)
By halting aid over Afghanistan's absurd gender rules, agencies let the Taliban win
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Mukesh Kapila is a former UN official who is an emeritus professor at the University of Manchester
January 12, 2023
January 12, 2023