Taliban advance in Afghanistan: the suffering of women

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Roya Afshar, doctor

»Old people, young people, teachers, doctors, engineers - everyone in Afghanistan is afraid of the Taliban.

Everyone here is seriously threatened. «

Kabul in August 2021. Two decades after the start of an allegedly new era for the country, the Taliban are again attacking the buildings of members of the government.

Eight people die - and that in one of the safest areas of the city.

The threat posed by the Taliban is becoming more noticeable every day.

The situation of women is particularly dangerous.

We reach Roya Afshar at home in Kabul.

Roya Afshar, doctor

»You know, at this time I would actually be in the hospital or teaching at a private school.

But I have to hide here at home. "

The gynecologist has hardly left the house for two months.

She has been widowed for ten years and looks after her 12-year-old son and the parents in need of care alone.

Roya Afshar, doctor

»I need to go to work urgently, but I can't.

Every time I go out, I am threatened by callers who say: You shouldn't go out, you mustn't.

I was a very active woman, also active in women's organizations.

That drew the Taliban's attention to me.

You want to persecute and punish these women. "

The advance of the Taliban is documented on social media: There are short videos from all over the country that show the gradual advance of the Islamists. The attacks have developed a tremendous dynamic in a short period of time. Since last Friday, the Taliban have conquered several strategically important provincial capitals: First, the small provincial capital Saranj on the Iranian border fell to the Taliban. Before that, the Islamists had the city of Laschkar Ga

h

in the south

attacked and destroyed the airport in Kandahar - and attacked the third largest Afghan city of Herat in the west. This was followed by the city of Schibergan in the north, formerly a stronghold of the Taliban opponents. In the north, Kunduz even fell, the city in which the Bundeswehr was stationed for around a decade. The provincial capital Sar-i-Pul in the north of the country also fell to the Islamists. After that, other provincial capitals quickly fell: Pul-i-Khumri in the north and Samangan. The road leads through Samangan directly to the capital Kabul.

Not far from Kabul, the Taliban then captured another strategically important city of Gasni - it is only 150 kilometers from the capital.

And just a week after the major offensive, the Taliban finally took Kandahar - the country's second largest city - on Friday.

More reports are added every day - it's like a noose that keeps tightening.

Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights Spokesperson / 8/10/21

»There are already reports of public flogging of women for

breaking

the rules.

In one case in the province of Balch: On August 3, a women's rights activist was shot and killed there for violating the rules. "

Videos of flogging and reports of women murdered by the Taliban are circulating on the Internet. Resistance is forming online under the hashtag #NoToTaliban.

And there have been isolated reports of resistance from women's groups in the provinces; As here in Herat province, young women took to the streets to protest against the capture of their city by the Taliban.

Monika Hauser, founder of medica mondiale

»So in places that have already been captured by the Taliban, it is suicidal to take to the streets and do demos. If that happens anyway, then it springs from a courage of desperation that we can hardly imagine. In the places where the Taliban have not yet occupied and the women take to the streets, this is also a very clear and also a very courageous expression to the international community: Why are you just watching? «

Monika Hauser has known Afghanistan for 20 years. With »medica mondiale« she founded an important organization to support women's rights. Over the years, three locations with 80 employees have emerged on site, with psychosocial support, mediation, legal advice, training and further education. Achievements that shaped Afghan civil society - and that are now at stake.

Monika Hauser, founder of medica mondiale

»I can still remember how powerfully everyone said: Now we are rebuilding our ruined country. Now we are going to enforce women's rights. Now the girls will be able to grow into strong women. There was an amazing spirit there and the Germans were also very trusted. And everything has been completely gambled away. And now? Now the Afghans know that they actually have no friends anywhere in the world and that, yes, that they are now defenselessly exposed to the situation. «

The withdrawal of NATO troops from the country leaves a power vacuum that the Taliban are now exploiting.

Apparently, two decades have not been enough to build an army in the torn country that could keep the Islamic extremists in check.

The Sharia laws still apply to the so-called warriors of God, even if there is much talk of a "new generation" of the Taliban.

They still have their progressive side, if they exist at all, but not proven.

On the contrary.

Ashraf Ghani, President Afghanistan, August 2nd, 2021

»The Taliban are no longer the same as they were 24 years ago.

They attacked us even more brutally and bloodthirstily.

The Taliban have not given up their ties to national and international terrorists, but have intensified them and their violence. "

For Monika Hauser, one thing is clear: Anyone who, like employees of international women's organizations, is targeted by Taliban threats should receive support, similar to Afghan local forces in the Bundeswehr.

Monika Hauser, founder of medica mondiale

»Yes, what are we doing

,

what is the federal government doing?

These are very clear demands that we have, that women's rights activists must be protected, that they get a visa for Germany, that they have the opportunity to flee to Germany.

Here, joint responsibility has to be borne again, which is a matter of course for us to continue to be by the side of our colleagues. "

Roya also feels left alone.

She has no way of leaving because the neighboring countries have closed their borders.

Roya Afshar, doctor

»I don't know what the future will bring. We cannot emigrate, we cannot stay in our country. We are waiting for death. If they come, they'll kill us - that's the fear of every woman here. "