(CNN Spanish) -- Prisoners inside their homes and invisible in the public space. This is how Amnesty International defined the fate of women after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 1996 until 2001. And although they have now said that they are willing to guarantee some rights to women, there are already some signs that the opposite could happen .

Before the Taliban took power in the 1990s, women were protected by law in Afghanistan. A 2001 report from the United States Department of State exemplifies the situation with some figures: at the beginning of the decade, 70% of female teachers, half of government officials and university students, and 40% of doctors in Kabul were women. . Since the 1920s they had enshrined the right to vote and by the 1960s the Constitution had provisions related to equality.

The situation changed radically when the Taliban took power: they oppressed women simply for "the 'crime' of being born a woman", according to the words of Amnesty International, as reported by lawyer Dean Obeidallah in this CNN column.

Here's a look at what life was like under the previous Taliban regime.

Education and work

The Taliban banned the education of girls in schools. Home learning was tolerated in some instances but also generally suppressed, according to the US State Department. This means that women, who until then could even study at university, were left without opportunities.

There were schools in rural areas that tried to keep running secretly, in fear of being found out. Research published in 2001 in the ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law collected by Amnesty International gives the example of a teacher who, according to some reports, insisted on continuing to teach, for which she was “hit with the butt of a rifle and then killed after being shot in the head and stomach. Her death was witnessed by her students, her husband and her daughter."

Women were also prohibited, with some exceptions (for example, jobs linked to agriculture in rural areas and in some health facilities), from working outside the home. And this, in addition to a severe restriction on freedom, resulted in poverty: thousands of widowed women —in many cases as a consequence of civil life— who supported themselves with their income, were forced to beg or sell their belongings to support the women. families.

Access to health

In 1997, the Taliban ordered that men and women should be treated in different hospitals and all female health workers were prohibited from performing their tasks in the 22 hospitals in Kabul, according to an article published in the American University Washington College of Law. Only women were allowed to be treated in a facility that had 35 beds and where there was no clean water, electricity or equipment to perform diagnoses and surgeries, among other resources.

Following an international campaign, this measure was partly modified and some women were allowed to work in the sector and care in other places. However, the level of care they received was very low.

"Under the Taliban regime, women were given only very rudimentary access to health and medical care, endangering the health of women and, in turn, their families. In most hospitals, male physicians could only examine a female patient if she was fully clothed, precluding the possibility of meaningful diagnosis and treatment," the State Department says.

That is, the doctors could not lift the burqa or look at or touch the bodies of the women. To such a level that, for example, even dentists who treated women were beaten and even sent to prison for doing so.

By 2001, Afghanistan had the second worst rate of women dying in childbirth: 16 out of 100 died while giving birth.

And the situation of women had a high cost in terms of mental health: the NGO Physicians for Human Rights reported for 2001 high rates of anxiety, depression and suicide among Afghan women, according to the State Department report.

Burqa

Before the Taliban took control, the burqa already existed in Afghanistan and was worn by some women, for example in rural areas. However, it was not an obligation, and in the cities many women simply covered their heads with scarves.

Under the regime, the burqa—a garment that covers from head to toe, including the eyes that are covered by mesh—became mandatory. This requirement was required even for little girls, eight or nine years old, according to the State Department.

Its use was enforced with threats, fines, and beatings.

In addition, makeup, nail polish, and shoes that make noise, among other clothing and accessories, were prohibited.

Wearing the burqa, which is prohibited in several Western countries, is not obligatory according to the Koran. The holy text of Islam urges women to dress modestly, but makes no reference to a specific garment of this type.

And this also has an economic dimension: women who could not afford to buy a burqa or get one, could not leave their homes.

Forbidden to go out without a man's company

Women could not go out in public unless a male family member such as a father, brother or husband accompanied them. There were no exceptions to the rule, not even if women needed to go to the doctor.

Women couldn't drive or take a taxi without a man. They could only be transported in special buses with painted windows so that nobody could see them from outside. In those same buses, the driver was separated by a curtain and those in charge of collecting the tickets from the women were children under 15 years of age.

Houses where women lived also had to have their curtains drawn so that they couldn't be seen from outside.

Violence

"The penalties for breaking Taliban rules were barbaric," explains Dean Obeidallah. Women were flogged for showing an inch or two of skin under their burqa, were beaten if they tried to study, and could be stoned to death if found guilty of adultery, according to Amnesty International.

In addition to beatings, acts of violence included rape, kidnapping and forced marriages. In fact, 62% of women were married before their 18th birthday.

Amnesty International explains that, in areas that remained under Taliban control from 2001 onwards, violence against women continued with violent punishments for what the group perceived to be violations of their interpretation of Islamic provisions.

What will happen to women in Afghanistan now?

Over the past two decades, women have once again begun to be recognized as rights holders in Afghanistan. The 2004 Constitution guaranteed equal rights and quotas for women's participation in Parliament, among other provisions, according to Amnesty International. More than three million girls are enrolled in schools. By 2019, more than 1,000 women had their own businesses. Improved access to health services.

Despite the improvements, there was still a long way to go to improve the situation of women in the country. A path threatened by the Taliban takeover.

This time around, the Taliban present themselves as more moderate, CNN reported. They affirmed that they are committed to the peace process, an inclusive government and willing to maintain some rights for women, for example education.

In some provinces where they have ruled in the last 20 years, they have guaranteed some limited rights to women. It is possible that in the short term they will make some concessions, according to Sam Kiley.

A 2020 Human Rights Watch report explained that "although the Taliban officially state that they are no longer opposed to girls' education, very few Taliban officials actually allow girls to go to school after puberty. Others don't allow girls' schools at all." Last year, the situation varied by region, according to the organization.

In an interview with CNN, activist Mahbouba Seraj of the Afghanistan Women's Network mentioned the case of an ulama — a Muslim cleric — who said that women in Herat have already been told to stay home because the reason The reason why there is a problem with the new generation in Afghanistan (...) is because the mothers are not at home" and that, with few exceptions in which they can work, they must remain indoors taking care of the children.

However, at this moment Seraj, who has been working for women's rights in the country for years, thinks in isolation from the ulama, or if he is part of the Taliban, or represents the vision that the regime will impose. At this point, and in the midst of the terror that part of society is experiencing, the only option left for them is to wait, she explains.