Afghan Women Vow To Resist Taliban Oppression Until Freedom Is Achieved – Global Issues
Dec 13 (IPS) – The author is a female journalist based in Afghanistan, trained with the support of Finland before taking on the Taliban. Her identity has been withheld for security reasons Three years after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, women continue to face oppressive laws and systematic discrimination.
The Taliban have imposed strict rules: women must cover their entire body from head to toe, they must not raise their voices in public, they must not pray or read the Koran aloud to each other. They have long been prohibited from working outside the home or from education
Despite this, Afghan women are determined to resist. “We will continue our protests and struggles until we get freedom,” Farzana said defiantly, a member of the Afghan Women Movement.
20 years ago, women in Afghanistan had gained higher education and professional skills, but now they are in greater danger from the Taliban. They were already discriminated against by the Taliban regime.
“During the first two years,” said Farzana, “we took to the streets to protest for our rights.” Unfortunately, during these demonstrations, the Taliban arrested the protesting women, imprisoned them and punished them, and there was no one to protect these women. .”
Women can no longer tolerate this situation and take to the streets to demand their rights, but recently, despite the introduction of new and strict laws by the Ministry of Publicity and Prevention of the Vice of Taliban, which even prevented women’s voices. , street protests have never been seen. It seems that the silence has once again plagued Afghan women.
Based on my interviews with female prisoners after their release, they were even whipped naked, raped, and their family members were mysteriously killed.
“We work secretly in protesting groups,” explained Farzana. “We are not allowed to roam the streets. We have been sharing our protests with individual media from home for a long time. The Taliban cannot silence our voices. We will continue our protests and struggles until we reach freedom”.
Malalai, another female protester, says: “The Taliban even sent spies into our homes using various pretexts, with their faces covered, saying that they are people doing normal government work.” “
Malalai also said that the Taliban have installed cameras on top of all high-rise buildings, which are called security cameras, but their real purpose is to monitor women. Recently, several women have been suddenly arrested and imprisoned.
“The Taliban are afraid of us because we expose the oppression of people, women, and ethnic minorities”, said Malalai adding: “The Taliban have put pressure and strict laws on women. Women cannot even walk on the streets without a Mahram – a male family member. We are investigated if a few of us are seen standing together on the streets. They look at our mobile phones and punish us”.
“The Taliban are strangling us. They shamelessly abuse the rights of ethnic minorities and our families in front of the United Nations and other countries.
“We women will continue our struggle despite the pressure and oppression of a terrorist group known all over the world. We will act according to our slogans that bread-work-is free”.
Saberaanother female protester, highlights the Taliban’s tactics of intimidation and control. “Taliban intelligence services are arresting female opponents. Through phone calls and photos they collect from protests, they identify female protesters during door-to-door searches. Also, they forcefully collect copies of people’s IDs and passports. Identify female protesters – declared as their opponents.”
Although we protested for our rights, many women protestors, single and married, are currently arrested by the Taliban and are facing severe punishment, no one is following their situation.
Currently, due to many challenges, we hold protests in secret places with our faces covered, and then we have to flee to another country.
The Taliban are doing a lot of brutality and oppression in remote provinces far away from the cities. They tax people twice their annual income.
If the people do not obey the order of the Taliban, they forcefully enter their homes and snatch their daughters. They also rape their wives and daughters and force them to leave their places of residence.
“We can no longer tolerate this oppression. We will continue our fight,” said Sabera.
Those interviewed said that women in Afghanistan are fighting bravely against the violence and strict laws of the Taliban, but there is no support.
“Despite poverty and unemployment, we continue our journey at our own expense,” said Sabera.
These women are urging the United Nations and human rights organizations to stop supporting and recognizing the Taliban regime.
“We are very disappointed that our words do not reach the world from this dark hole,” said Sabera.
The European Union is shocked by the laws passed by the Taliban that limit women’s freedom of speech and, in effect, put women’s lives inside the home.
“Possible recognition would require the Taliban to comply in all ways with its obligations to the citizens of Afghanistan and Afghanistan’s international obligations,” said a press release from the Council of Europe.
The EU continues to support Afghan women and girls and all those threatened by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
On the other hand, the Taliban also refused to cooperate with the UN-backed UNAMA aid program.
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
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