Officials of Taliban In Herat, Afghanistan’s most progressive city, driving schools have been asked not to give women diplomas anymore, driving instructors have said.
“We have received verbal instructions not to give women (…) driving licenses anymore, but we have not been instructed to prevent them from driving in the city,” said Yan Aga Asakzai, director of the Herat Traffic Management Institute, head of driving schools.
Afghanistan is a deeply conservative and patriarchal country, but it is not uncommon women lead to large cities, mainly Herat, in the northwestern part of the country, which is considered relatively more progressive than the rest of the country.
Naim al-Hak Hakani, head of the regional Information and Culture Service, said no official order had been issued on the matter.
The Taliban usually refrain from issuing written orders, letting local authorities announce their own decreesmost often orally.
Antila Antil, a 29-year-old driving instructor, said the Taliban wanted to ensure that the next generation would not have the same opportunities as their mothers. “We were told not to take driving lessons and not to issue diplomas,” he explained.
“I have to be able to take my family to the doctor in my car without waiting for my brother or husband to return home,” said Saima Wafa.
“It’s actually safer for a woman to drive her own car,” said Fereshteh Yakubi, a woman who has been driving for years.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, promising a more tolerant government than their first regime in 1996-2001. But since then they have restricted the rights of Afghans, especially women and girls, who have been excluded from education and much of the public sector.
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