Article Author:
Reuters
Mohammad Yunus Yawar
Kabul — Monesa Mubarez denounces the rights she and other Afghan women acquired during 20 years of Western-backed rule. I am not going to give up easily.
The 31-year-old was director of policy oversight at the Ministry of Finance before the hardline Islamist Taliban movement returned to power a year before him.
She is one of many women who live mostly in big cities, and under the Taliban's previous rule in the late 1990s, freedoms previous generations never dreamed of. won.
Mubarez is now out of her job. The Taliban's strict interpretation of Islamic law severely restricted women's ability to work, required conservative dress and behavior, and closed secondary schools for girls across the country.
Under the new government, there were no women in the Cabinet and the Women's Ministry was closed.
"One war is over, but the battle to find a just place for Afghan women has begun... We will speak out against all injustices until our last breath." ' said Mubarez. capital Kabul.
She took part in several protests that erupted despite the risk of beatings and detention by Taliban members patrolling the streets weeks after the Western-backed government was overthrown.
These demonstrations subsided. The last time Mubarez participated was her 10 May.
But she and others meet at home to discuss women's rights, discuss women's rights, and join the cause. Such a rally would have been virtually unthinkable when the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan.
At one such meeting at her home in July, Mubarez and her group of women sat in a circle on the floor, talked about their experiences, and said: They chanted words like food, work, and so on. ' and 'freedom' as if at an open-air meeting.
"We fight for our freedom, we fight for our rights and status. We do not work for any country, organization or spy agency. This is our country. and this is our home and we have every right to live here," she told Reuters.
, said stories like Mubarez are being repeated across the country.
"For many women around the world, walking outside the front door of their homes is part of everyday life," she said. "For many Afghan women, it's something special. It's an act of defiance."
No, but in relatively liberal urban areas like Kabul, people often travel without a male escort. This is less common in more conservative areas, mainly the South and East.
All women must be accompanied by a male companion when traveling more than 48 miles (78 km).
Problems
The treatment of girls and women by the Taliban has resulted in the international community's refusal to recognize Afghanistan's new ruler, cut off billions of dollars in aid, and an economic crisis. That's one of the main reasons it's getting worse.
Senior officials from several ministries said policies on women were set by the Supreme Leader, and declined to comment further. Taliban leaders have said that all rights of Afghans are protected within Sharia's interpretation.
From 2001 to 2021, rights groups and foreign governments have been accused of human rights abuses and killing thousands of people while fighting an insurgency against US-led foreign and Afghan forces. It has also accused the group of civilian deaths.
The Taliban have said they are resisting foreign occupation and vowed not to seek revenge against their former enemies since returning to power. , said it would investigate.
Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are not allowed to attend high school.
In March, the group announced the reopening of girls' secondary schools, but reversed the decision on the very morning many girls were excited to go to school.
Some have enrolled in her private tutorials and online classes to continue their education.
"I hope schools reopen," said her 16-year-old Kerishma Rasheedi, who has started her private lessons as a temporary measure. She wants to leave the country with her parents so she can go back to school if they remain trapped in Afghanistan.
"I will not stop studying," she said Rasheedi. She moved with her family to Kabul from the northeastern province of Kunduz after rockets hit her home in the 2020 clashes.
The international community continues to advocate for women's rights and their leadership role in public life and politics. life. Some women said they had to embrace new norms to make ends meet.
Former policewoman Grestan Safari was forced to change jobs after the Taliban blocked her entry into the police station.
Safari, 45, is now I do household chores for other families in Kabul.
"I loved my job...I could afford everything I wanted. I could buy meat and fruit." (Rupam Jain, Mike Collett-White and Susan Fenton edit)