In class, we read about the increased state of surveillance under Ben Ali in Tunisia, discussing how increased surveillance impacts individual freedom and could possibly be categorized as unfreedom (re: Parrenas’ Unfree). In this blog post, I’ll discuss the Taliban’s implementation of surveillance across Afghanistan.
In 2021, the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, ending a twenty-year war that started with the 9/11 attacks. Almost immediately after the U.S.’ withdrawal, the Taliban took over Kabul. With this came the implementation of a multitude of laws curtailing women’s rights, ranging from bans on education for women to limits/bans on what women are allowed to do outside the home (see complete list of rules here, according to the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan). Afghanistan women live an unfree life, with rules affecting every aspect of their physical and mental livelihoods. At any moment, they can be stopped, arrested, or killed, for whatever they’re wearing or doing. This calls me back to the news article I mentioned in class a few weeks ago, an open letter from Arefa, an afghan woman. She talks about how she has qualifications, worked multiple jobs, but became barred to her house under Taliban laws. No longer able to work because of such laws, she started to speak out against the Taliban publicly, which led to decreased opportunities as organizations did not want to be associated with her out of fear of retaliation from the Taliban. She pleads to the global community for help for society of women in the same/similar situations.
It’s not enough to simply place bans with the threat of violence, though. To be able to fully ensure that all are following the rules, the Taliban has installed an overwhelming security system, with 62,000 cameras in Kabul alone — with plans to expand this security system across the rest of Afghanistan. To provide a bit of context, there are about 5 million people in Kabul – resulting in 1 camera for about 80 people. In New York City, there are about 8.5 million people, with NYPD’s security system totaling about 25,500 cameras – resulting in 1 camera for about 333 people.
This excessive monitoring exacerbates the unfreedom afghan women (and other afghan citizens) experience. Even if you aren’t caught in the moment, you could be accused at any time by the Taliban, citing surveillance. This leads to many women ending up in positions like Arefa, where the best option is to stay inside at home. In a country where you’re autonomy is subjugated in so many ways, where you can’t walk outside without your mahram (father, brother, husband), where if you try to speak up you have to hide inside, and in a world ruled by neoliberal ideologies, how can you overcome?
Written by: Lily Philbrook