After taking some of the main provinces of Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021, the Taliban stormed Kabul, the capital city. Afghan politicians including the president, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country some days before the Taliban’s arrival at Kabul. The military fell and the soldiers, police, and armies gave up. The whole country has been going through hard situations. However, Afghan women have been the most vulnerable group in the current Taliban ruling time.
By the start of the Taliban’s rule, women have been deprived of their basic rights, such as getting an education and employment. And they cannot participate in any political, social, cultural, and economic affairs of the country. They are kept at home and limited by many red lines in the name of religion. These women have been fighting for their rights by raising their voices through online and on-street protests. Unfortunately, they have always faced violent reactions from the current political system ruling in the country (Yogita Limaye and Aakriti Thapar, BBC). Worse than that, the journalists and media reporters who were there to cover the protest were severely beaten by the current regime.
To make the long story short, no words can describe the situation of Afghan women in the present time. There are millions of hopes that they are being lost day by day and minute by minute. Each day, students not attending their school or university are leading the country towards darkness. Afghanistan whether now or in the future needs well-educated and knowledgeable women to progress because they are half of the country. As a result, keeping Afghan women at home and drawing red lines for them is never acceptable because it is against human rights.
Everyone in the world can play their positive roles to save those helpless women. NGOs and all human rights activities, institutions, and organizations can play a major role in saving millions of lives. They can change the dark journey of those women to hopes and achievements. We all, everyone in the world, should raise our voice for Afghan women to be allowed to practice their basic rights.
In the Certified Training Program organized by World Youth Alliance, I learned about Mahatma Gandhi who said that all men are born equal. And I learned that Nelson Mandela said that all men should have equal opportunities. Mandela advocated and struggled for justice and equality, as a result, he could bring a lot of positive changes. More importantly, I learned that we all are a global family. As active members of this global family, each one of us should start raising the voice of our sisters in Afghanistan. One voice can save one hope. As human rights supporters, we should act now; tomorrow is too late!
Published: January 13, 2022
Written by Nasrin Azizy, Intern for the World Youth Alliance Middle East and North Africa.
