When Zahra recalls her life before the summer of 2021, it feels like another reality. As a student in Afghanistan at the time, she had “a lot of friends.” “We were happy together, studying and sometimes gathering together…we used to ride bicycles,” she recalls. Zahra, 20, doesn’t ride bikes anymore, go to school or out without covering her face, or see friends who have fled the country. All she can do, she says, is sit at home and fear the future crumbling before her eyes. She said, “When I stand in front of the mirror and look at myself, I see a different flower than it was two years ago. I feel sad about what has passed.”
Last Tuesday coincided with the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul at the hands of the Taliban movement, which took control of Afghanistan, amid the chaotic and controversial US withdrawal from the country, after nearly 20 years of fighting. And the Taliban – which is not recognized by most countries in the world – declared that Tuesday, on this date every year, is a national holiday. The Taliban’s deputy spokesman, Bilal Karimi, told CNN that today is “a day of honor and pride for Afghans.” He says, “Afghanistan was liberated from occupation, and the Afghans were able to restore their country, their freedom, their government, and their will. The only way to solve the remaining problems is through understanding and dialogue, as the use of pressure and force is no longer logical.
But partying is the last thing many Afghan women like Zahra — whose first name is mentioned by CNN only for safety reasons — want because life under Taliban rule has become increasingly oppressive and brutal. Activists warn that things may get worse when countries turn away from them, after decades of wars in their countries, and become preoccupied with their internal issues, and this means dwindling foreign aid that leaves millions of Afghans fighting drought, hunger and disease, in a crisis that United Nations human rights experts said about it. This week it’s getting worse.
“There is no such thing as women’s freedom anymore,” says Afghan women’s rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Mahbooba Siraj. And she adds, “Women in Afghanistan are slowly being erased from society, from life, from everything…from their opinions, their voices, what they think, and where they are.”
When the Taliban, who once ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, seized power in 2021, it initially presented itself as a more moderate version of its predecessor, even promising to allow women to continue their education through university, but has since taken tough measures instead. In addition, secondary schools for girls were closed, women were prevented from attending university and working for NGOs, including the United Nations, they were restricted from traveling without a male escort, and they were banned from entering public spaces such as parks and gyms.
Women are no longer able to work in most sectors, and suffered another blow last month when the Taliban shut down all beauty salons across the country and prevented women from working in factories that had previously employed some 60,000 women, many of whom are the sole breadwinners for their families. This caused more trouble for families already struggling to survive.
For young women like Zahra, this sudden upheaval in daily life seems especially devastating as they come of age and form dreams for their future. Zahra enjoys art, and wanted to become a designer, or start her own business, but none of that is possible in Afghanistan.
She says, “I am 20 years old, and it is time for me to study and learn, but the government does not allow me to do so, and I only have to sit in my house.” And she continues, “I am worried about my future, the future of my sisters, and the future of all women in Afghanistan.” Not being able to go out much, she tries to fill her time at home with drawing and reading books, and takes any online lessons, but says she feels suffocated, as if in prison. She says, “I cannot focus in front of this miserable situation. My sister is sitting at home. All the girls are sitting at home, and they cannot do anything.”
The international community has widely condemned the Taliban’s treatment of girls and women, with the United Nations human rights body urging this week for reforms and respect for women’s freedoms. But these messages have done little for change, and global interest in the people of Afghanistan has largely faded, leaving many of Afghans feel angry and abandoned by the world. “The youth of Afghanistan are crying out in an attempt to draw the world’s attention to their plight and the plight of women in Afghanistan,” says Siraj.
Zahra says that she wondered about other countries ignoring her country, and comments on that by saying: “They are comfortable.. Their children, daughters and sisters go to school, but there are girls and women in this corner of the world who are ignorant of the world, and they cannot do anything.”
The isolation of Afghan women has affected their mental health, with widespread reports of depression and suicide, especially among teenage girls who have been prevented from pursuing an education, according to a United Nations report last month. The report adds that about 8% of those surveyed know a girl or woman who has attempted suicide, and that economic restrictions and difficulties have also led to an increase in domestic violence and forced marriage for girls.
The Taliban has repeatedly claimed that it “allows women to work in certain sectors, as long as they adhere to Islamic values.” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid acknowledged that there was still “a problem in terms of girls’ education”, claiming that the group wanted to “pave the way for Islamic rules and regulations” and create a “safe environment for their education”. He also claimed that “women are actively working in health and education departments, police, passport offices, airports, etc.”
But nonprofits and experts say this is far from the truth, and the gap is particularly large and evident in the healthcare sector. Under Taliban rules, women can only obtain health care from other women, but the ban on higher education for women means that all female medical students have no way to finish and graduate, leading to a shortage of much-needed female doctors, midwives, and nurses.
After the Taliban took control, the United States and its allies froze about $7 billion in the country’s foreign reserves and cut off international financing. The move crippled an economy already heavily dependent on aid, with millions of Afghans out of work, government employees unpaid, and food and medicine prices skyrocketing.
Last year, the United States created a $3.5 billion economic aid fund with frozen assets, but officials said they would not release the money soon to a foundation in Afghanistan, instead passing that fund through an external body independent of the Taliban, the state and the central bank.
Humanitarian aid has dried up further in recent months after the Taliban banned women from working for NGOs. Many organizations – including the United Nations – have had to suspend important programs or operations in the country. And all the while, activists fear that the Taliban will gradually be normalized on the world stage, even if it is not widely recognized as a legitimate government and does not control Afghanistan’s seat at the United Nations.
The dire situation means that more than 1.6 million Afghans have fled the country since 2021, according to the United Nations. Even these refugees face an uncertain future, many of whom are still waiting to enter the US and other Western countries, while some are waiting for a long time, as they have been forcibly deported to Afghanistan and are forced to go into hiding.
“The only reason I am in Afghanistan and here to stay is to be with my sisters and try to help them,” Siraj says. “I haven’t lost all hope, but with every step of the way, with every decision, I see it’s getting more and more difficult,” she adds. For young Afghans hoping to preserve what remains of their future, flight appears to be the only option left.
• Life under Taliban rule has become increasingly repressive and brutal. Activists warn that things may get worse when countries turn away from them after the decades-long wars in their countries, and become preoccupied with their internal issues.
• Humanitarian aid has dried up further in recent months after the Taliban banned women from working in NGOs. Many organizations, including the United Nations, have had to suspend important programs or operations in the country.
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2023-08-18 22:06:48
