WIN Prayer Series: Afghanistan at the Crossroads #2

**God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them**

        Source:              www.win1040.com
Date:                   September 10, 2021

“God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them” (The Bible, Genesis 1:27). Women as well as men are created in God’s image. History has proven that societies have often skewed the original concept of equality between the sexes. Patriarchal as well as matriarchal societies have evolved, but currently most of the civilized world recognizes that women as well as men have certain “unalienable rights.”

Saturday and Sunday saw Afghan women peacefully protesting in the streets of Kabul, demanding equal rights, proclaiming “We are not women of the 90s”, referring to the Taliban’s mandates and restrictions when they controlled the country. Women had to be fully covered from head to toe with a burka and were not allowed outside without a male escort. They also were not allowed to attend school, drive, or work in society. In the last 20 years all of that has changed. Not only can they get an education, but many have become doctors, scientists, teachers and have had the same opportunities as men. The protests were met with tear gas and physical beatings. Women could be seen coughing and bleeding.

The world has been waiting with bated breath to see if the Taliban would keep its pledges, one of which was to respect women’s rights according to their interpretation of Islamic teachings. The last part of that statement almost guarantees that women will not be considered equal in society with men in a Taliban society. In the 1990s when the Taliban last ruled the country, it imposed repressive restrictions not only on women but on society as a whole. Men were forced to grow beards and television and music were banned. The Taliban’s signals have been mixed. Government employees including women have been asked to return to work, but some women were later ordered home by lower-ranking Taliban officials. Universities and schools have been ordered to open, but fear on the part of both teachers and students has kept them away.

Let us fervently pray for:

The Taliban to fall into the pit they have dug in their crushing blow to freedom and equality for women in Afghanistan (The Bible, Psalm 35:8).
Afghan men/husbands/fathers to defend the rights of women in the face of this appalling repression that the Taliban is trying to reimpose upon women (The Bible, Colossians 3:18-20).
The few Christian Believers in Afghanistan to stand firm in their faith and in the protection of the women in their midst (The Bible, 1 Peter 5).