Gender in Conflict: The Semiotics of Afghan Women photos after “Taliban offensive 2021” in Newswires

Gender studies are a branch of interdisciplinary studies that has received increasing attention in the last decade. This field has developed through the new social movements, in addition to conflicts and wars. So, the identity and the role of gender in conflict zone create a new dimension in framing the events and defining them. Violence leads to sub-issues related to the visual framing of women, such as; their social rights, psychological effects and trauma as well as political and economic pressures that make women vulnerable to exploitation methods and repressive practices. Terrorist and extremist groups, led by ISIS, for example, have practiced many methods of suppressing the freedoms of women in besieged areas, in addition to recruiting others, and arguments that contradict the teachings of the Islamic religion and human rights.
Afghan women are living through the worst repressive periods in the history of Afghanistan, since the Taliban announced their alliance with anti-government groups, to launch their armed attack on the Afghan capitals and states. On the 15th of August 2021, the capital Kabul has fallen and the Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, fled to the UAE. The Taliban's extremist policies and discriminatory practices against women are known. The horror of the 1990s has returned back again to the lives of Afghan women, threatening their future.
This study is an attempt to analyze the semiotics determines of Afghan women photo coverage after “Taliban offensive 2021” in the photo press agencies; EPA, AFP and AP. The photo coverage represented the Afghan women as a protester, refugee, solider, and   mother and all these roles stand against discrimination and inferiority.