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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2023 The world must not forget the women of Afghanistan

Not only has there been no let-up in the terrible situation imposed upon the women of Afghanistan by the Taliban, but the situation is becoming acutely worse, writes SHUKRIA RAHIMI

AS PEOPLE around the world prepare to celebrate International Women’s Day, the ruling Taliban regime in Afghanistan does not even consider the country’s women to be second-class citizens.

People in Afghanistan and their “social rank” are categorised according to their ethnicity, as Pashtuns or non-Pashtuns, or their religion, as Sunni or Shi’ite Muslims.  

However, women in Afghanistan have no privilege according to any marker and rank lower than low — thus, a Pashtun woman is as deprived as a Hazara woman and will face myriad forms of oppression over the course of her life.

The flames of the women’s movement in Afghanistan have long been alive and were not only stoked during the first days of the Taliban’s presence and retaking of power in Kabul, but long before that amid the fears of a dark future and falling victim to this “disgraceful peace” (the abandonment of the Afghan people and managed transfer of power from the occupying forces to the Taliban).  

Women and girls had nothing more than their courage and voices as they took to the streets all over Afghanistan chanting for “Bread, Work and Freedom!”  

The vast majority of these women had no prior background or involvement in politics. All we wanted were the rights to be educated, to work, to participate in politics, as well as other basic freedoms taken for granted elsewhere.

Shortly after the Taliban retook power, I myself encountered them up close for the first time. I was on a peaceful march, the participants of which were unarmed and unaffiliated with any party, politician or foreign power.  

We came face to face with militiamen who had been trained to kill for as long as we had been alive. On that day, I came upon the realisation that terrorists — many of whom have a bounty on their heads — are actually afraid of young girls and women.  

On that occasion, we were ordered to turn around and return to our homes by the Taliban. It shocked and shamed these militiamen to see us there demonstrating on the street.

My understanding of why the Taliban oppose women’s education and economic independence changed after that day. An educated woman will raise a child who will question and challenge their ideology, which is dangerous for them.  

According to the Persian proverb, “Who gives bread, gives the command,” women who are not financially dependent on men are also dangerous — as the Taliban are looking for submissive women, a reproductive machine for their next generation.  

According to Taliban ideology, women were created to serve men, which is why polygamy and child marriage are permitted.  

Negotiation with the Taliban on women’s rights is an oxymoron and complete waste of time. In fact, I and many other women’s activists are left wondering where the optimism — beyond Afghanistan — that anything meaningful can be achieved with the Taliban comes from.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, their rule has been primarily marked by restrictions on women’s presence across all areas of life and the public sphere.  

At first, they began by issuing relatively mild decrees imposing restrictions. However, these were replaced by much more draconian measures when the Taliban realised they were not going to receive the recognition and legitimacy they crave from the international community.   

Thus, women first took a hit to their working conditions before being denied the right to work altogether. In schools, colleges and universities, women and girls were segregated and prevented from taking up certain fields or subjects, before being prohibited from attending outright.  

Women and girls were prevented from travelling without a mahram (chaperone — usually husband or immediate male relative), then from driving, before being more or less prohibited from accessing much of the public space.  

Women’s refuges have been closed; women’s parks and public bathrooms blocked off; female media workers’ faces mandatorily covered; and women’s rights activists forcibly disappeared and tortured to death.

With each passing day, not only has there been no let-up in the terrible situation imposed upon the women of Afghanistan by the Taliban, but the situation is becoming acutely worse.  

A clear example of this is the issue of schooling. The academic year in Afghanistan is set to begin with the complete absence of girl students.

However, despite all this, the Afghan women continue to courageously fight back. These women provide free classes in clandestine schools at great risk of violent reprisals; seek to provide online educational resources for those sisters that can access them, and bravely give voice to their compatriots’ concerns and demands via international media outlets — thereby helping to keep these issues in the spotlight. 

Literacy classes and storytelling are provided for children, as well as tailoring and hairdressing workshops for young adults — to enable them the opportunity of raising the tiniest income, despite the fierce opposition of the Taliban.    

These ostensibly small gestures and initiatives in fact equate to great acts of resistance and struggle and make all the difference. 

They allow women and girls in Afghanistan to hold onto a shred of dignity and hope, as opposed to surrendering to the darkness.

In light of this, the women of Afghanistan ask the international community not to relent in its pressure on the Taliban over women’s rights.  

We appeal to all feminists and everyone who is committed to gender equality — whether through writing, the media, or organising a gathering.

The world must not forget the women of Afghanistan; otherwise, history will confer a damning verdict upon it for doing so.  

Afghan women are neither somehow naturally predisposed to the horrendous conditions under which they currently live, or less deserving of a life and circumstances in which they might thrive.  

They should not be condemned to vile oppression merely for being born in the country called Afghanistan.

Shukria Rahimi is an Afghan woman activist.

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