Taliban in Afghanistan: What Happens When Islam Controls Society?
8th November 2025
Governments attempting to restore ties with the Taliban are instead risking the legitimization of oppression. Doing so would deepen Afghanistan’s crisis, an independent UN human rights expert cautioned on October 30, calling for a principled approach that defends the rights of women and girls.
As the Taliban tighten control over Afghan society, everyone is forced to follow regulations and norms that the group has imposed. This includes the ban on women employees and a requirement that women must wear a burqa and have a male companion while traveling outside of the home. Everyone is expected to rigidly follow Islamic disciplines, especially going to the mosque. Failure to observe such requirements raises suspicion, and anyone can report violators to the local imam and/or Sharia police.
I doubt that ‘Islam’ as used here is strictly fair. It depends on what flavor of Islam is in charge. This is like talking about Christianity-controlled society and merely looking at Puritan Massachusetts. Catholic-controlled Maryland, or Anglican-controlled Virginia, were quite different. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are quite different, while both being thoroughly “Muslim-controlled”.