The daily life of Afghan women has changed dramatically since the Taliban seized power on August 15. Religious fundamentalists have restricted women’s rights and replaced the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with one for promoting virtue and suppressing vice. Women live in fear and when they are activists, as fugitives.
By Sonia Ghezali, RFI correspondent in Islamabad
“Justice! We are tired of living captive”, a group of feminist activists chanted a few months ago in the streets of Kabul. Several of them were detained by the Taliban and held for several days before being released.
One of her activist friends who escaped detention was willing to talk to us. We keep your identity secret for security reasons. “They told me that the Taliban treats them well, but they say that their psychological state, their mental health, is not good at all. They say that, although they are free, they feel that they are still in prison. This suggests that they have been mistreated by the Taliban.”
This is confirmed by a person close to the detained activists on condition of anonymity, but none of them dares to speak to the media for fear of reprisals. The activist who spoke to us explained that she lives as a fugitive. “My mood is not good. I can’t go out, I can’t work, I’m not safe at home. I haven’t been home for more than a month. I keep changing my place of residence, I even have to hide in other provinces,” she explains.
“Women’s lives don’t matter”
However, she continues to campaign for women’s rights. Now, the activists avoid the streets and meet in flats, whose addresses they keep secret. And they film their meetings. “Food, work, justice”, they chant.” Freedom, we are human beings”.
Life has changed for Afghan women since the Taliban seized power. They are prohibited from political life, many universities, high schools and colleges are still closed to girls. Women must be accompanied by a moharram, a companion from their family.
Saba, a 23-year-old journalist in Kabul, says she has never felt so vulnerable. She lives alone with her 22-year-old sister. “I have never felt as weak as I do now. It’s since something happened last week. I sent my sister to Zabul province with my maternal uncle to get her passport. And they refused to give it to her because neither her father nor her brother was present with her,” she explains. “And I feel so weak because I can’t do anything to help my sister. Our father is dead and our brother is very young, younger. of age. What I see is that the lives of women do not matter to these people, they do not even consider us human beings, “he emphasizes.
On the streets of Kabul, the women who used to let their hair stick out below the veil they are more scarce. Some still dare to secretly paste feminist slogans on the walls of the capital, risking arrest.
The daily life of Afghan women has changed dramatically since the Taliban seized power on August 15. Religious fundamentalists have restricted women’s rights and replaced the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with one for promoting virtue and suppressing vice. Women live in fear and when they are activists, as fugitives.
By Sonia Ghezali, RFI correspondent in Islamabad
“Justice! We are tired of living captive”, a group of feminist activists chanted a few months ago in the streets of Kabul. Several of them were detained by the Taliban and held for several days before being released.
One of her activist friends who escaped detention was willing to talk to us. We keep your identity secret for security reasons. “They told me that the Taliban treats them well, but they say that their psychological state, their mental health, is not good at all. They say that, although they are free, they feel that they are still in prison. This suggests that they have been mistreated by the Taliban.”
This is confirmed by a person close to the detained activists on condition of anonymity, but none of them dares to speak to the media for fear of reprisals. The activist who spoke to us explained that she lives as a fugitive. “My mood is not good. I can’t go out, I can’t work, I’m not safe at home. I haven’t been home for more than a month. I keep changing my place of residence, I even have to hide in other provinces,” she explains.
“Women’s lives don’t matter”
However, she continues to campaign for women’s rights. Now, the activists avoid the streets and meet in flats, whose addresses they keep secret. And they film their meetings. “Food, work, justice”, they chant.” Freedom, we are human beings”.
Life has changed for Afghan women since the Taliban seized power. They are prohibited from political life, many universities, high schools and colleges are still closed to girls. Women must be accompanied by a moharram, a companion from their family.
Saba, a 23-year-old journalist in Kabul, says she has never felt so vulnerable. She lives alone with her 22-year-old sister. “I have never felt as weak as I do now. It’s since something happened last week. I sent my sister to Zabul province with my maternal uncle to get her passport. And they refused to give it to her because neither her father nor her brother was present with her,” she explains. “And I feel so weak because I can’t do anything to help my sister. Our father is dead and our brother is very young, younger. of age. What I see is that the lives of women do not matter to these people, they do not even consider us human beings, “he emphasizes.
On the streets of Kabul, the women who used to let their hair stick out below the veil they are more scarce. Some still dare to secretly paste feminist slogans on the walls of the capital, risking arrest.
;
