Blogs

Hello everyone.

On behalf of Afghan women, I would like to express my thanks to Women Intercultural Network the organizer of the event for giving me this opportunity to be here with you for a few minutes. I would like to express my deepest thanks and warm greetings to all freedom loving and justice-seeking women movements, human rights organizations defenders and individuals who protested and sent declarations of solidarity in defense of the Afghan people, especially Afghan women.

Dear friends

Today I am happy to be among a group of heroes who are struggling for liberation and freedom of humanity from poverty, oppression and tyranny. I am also one of you. A woman who escaped from the land of blood and fire and now fights for the lost rights of women imprisoned in Afghanistan

Unfortunately, two years ago, the United States, NATO and their supporting countries handed over Afghanistan to a terrorist and dark-minded group for their political and military interests, a group who committed suicide and explosions in 20 years, and shed the blood of thousands of innocent people. A group that is as misogynist and fundamentalist as they don’t even accept the physical presence of women in society. In fact, the killers of the people were made the rulers of their destiny.

Today, situation in Afghanistan is worse than Medieval period, people are in the worst social, political and economic conditions.

Millions of people became refugee. According to United Nations official statistics  in last two years about two million people have left Afghanistan and gone to different countries, especially Pakistan and Iran. Currently, about 9 million Afghans are immigrants around the world.

Twenty million people are unemployed, hungry, and facing poverty, 4 million young people addicted to drugs in two years.

16000 people have been imprisoned by the Taliban

1,400 of them are women.

500 hundred children, including seventy girls, are in Taliban prisons.

Official statistics of the Taliban Prisons Directorate.

Recently, 60,000 female hairdressers lost their jobs.

250 TV and radio stations have been closed, and 12,000 journalists have lost their jobs, of which 40% are women and girls. Official statistics of Reporters Without Borders.

The Taliban have turned hundreds of schools into religious schools and fired most of the teachers.

Afghanistan has become the center of suicide training and Islamic fundamentalism.

Suicides and psychological problems are heard in every corner of the country.

while on other hand Jihadi fundamentalist are recruiting soldiers from these poor people.

The past two years were difficult for the entire nation, but women and girls suffered the most. Women are treated like slaves. Women are deprived of their basic rights, which are work and education. Women are whipped in public, stoned to death, forced married to Taliban soldiers, they have been eliminated from all sectors of the community, and subjected to thousands of insults and humiliations every day.

the situation is critical and there is even a danger that Afghanistan will once again enter into a war between these terrorist groups that have the support of different countries, and the world is watching and has kept a deadly silence, and everyone’s attention is towards Ukraine’s war. If the situation continues in this way, unfortunately, it must be said that I do not see a good outlook/ prospect and we will witness even worse disasters.

We all know and have seen that when the Taliban take over, thousands of women walked to the streets and made their voice for justice, but unfortunately, these voices were cruelly suffocated and suppressed by the Taliban. We saw how the Taliban arrested a huge number of women activists and sent them to prison. These women were taken out of their houses by Taliban armed men at night. Some of these women were beaten and tortured and faced with ill-treatment and forced confessions.
despite of all these pressures and tortures, women’s voice for justice has not been completely silenced and they have continued their struggle in different ways. What is clear is that no country has recognized the Taliban as a formal regime until now and the relations of this group are still severed with many countries of the world it is because of the protests and struggles of women.

Dear friends!

Afghan women are trapped between the chains of oppressions from different sides. They are deprived of right to raise their voices for their basic rights . They are under high pressure and persecution by the security and intelligence agencies of the Taliban. Lack of serious support from human rights and women’s rights organizations abroad. Insincerity and determination of the international community against the cruel actions of the Taliban towards the women. On other side they are facing poverty, insecurity, the other problem is the countries like America, Pakistan, Iran government, Qatar and some other countries that played a role in bringing this group to power are still trying to give formal recognition to the Taliban. All these have made it difficult for women to fight and seek justice.

Demands of the Afghan women

1-Non-recognition of the Taliban:

The main and fundamental demand of the women’s justice movement is that the Taliban should not be recognized at any cost otherwise the people will continue to be under the rule of ignorance for years.

2- Impose more pressure on Taliban:

Global pressure should be increased on the Taliban so that this group stop cruelty and barbarism against women. To remove their restrictions on women. Our women and young girls should not be flogged on the roads, put in jail, or humiliated and insulted. In this regard, it is the responsibility of all human rights organizations and institutions that defend women’s rights in the world to put pressure on their governments to stop supporting the Taliban group in Afghanistan. This is the biggest help that the world can do for the support of women in Afghanistan.

3- Due to the worse conditions and strict laws of the Taliban, a large number of girls and women in Kabul and some provinces have adopted a secret life and are thinking of leaving the country. Some protesting women even left the country. Now there is a need for support of international political activists, Women Movements and human rights and civil activists to raise their voice for the imprisoned women in Afghanistan. They are in need of women defenders to help them and guide them how to plan their struggles against this terrorist group.

4-There should be no financial assistance provide to the Taliban. The United Nations should explain why it give forty million dollars to the Taliban every week? Who give this money and why will this money be provided to the Taliban?

Don’t you think that this money is helping the Taliban to restore their power? Don’t you think this is a big obstacle to democratic programs and human rights and women’s rights? They are empowering the Taliban to flog more women?  Imprison more women at home? Depriving girls from school and finally turning Afghanistan into a center of international terrorism so that none of the countries in Europe and other regions in the world will be safe and secure?

In his latest interview with Afghanistan International, Zalmay Khalilzad  US special Representative for Afghanistan for Reconciliation from Sep2018 to october2021 said that America supports the Taliban and that this group is for the benefit of America’s interests in the region and acts against ISIS. I want the American people, Human right and women’s right organization to ask Joe Biden and Donald Trump for signing a peace agreement with the Taliban and surrendering Afghanistan to a terrorist group, and ask them how a  killers group can bring peace and democracy to a country?

Why does the US government compromise with international terrorists for its interests?

I asked the women Activists around the world not to forget their sisters in Afghanistan. They should raise their voices for saving human rights in particular women ‘s rights in Afghanistan. Afghan women need your solidarity and sympathy.

Hoping for a world free from inequality and discrimination and The success of women’s justice movements around the world.

Thanks

Bio of Latifa Ahmady

Latifa Ahmady was born in Afghanistan and completed her primary and secondary education in Iran and Pakistan. She got her Bachelor Degree from Kabul Educational University- faculty of English Literature and Master Degree from Avicenna University- Kabul -Afghanistan. She dedicated her life to empower women to break the chains of oppressions, discrimination, and violence against women. She as a representative of Afghan women participated in different European and Asian International women gathering for revealing real condition of Afghan women. She has been

• Women activist since being 14 years.

• Former Executive Director of Organization for Promoting Afghan Women Capabilities (OPAWC)

• Present Director of an Afghan local organization Enter to Bright Future Organization (EBFO)

• Current executive board member of Women Intercultural Network (WIN)

• Current board member in an Afghan local organization: Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan (HAWCA)

• Current board member of a NETWORK in Sweden (Action in Umea for Afghanistan).

Because she was an activist for Human’s Right and women’s rights and had open activities against the wrong policies of the government and fundamentalist groups, the conditions for living inside Afghanistan became difficult for her. Like other women’s rights and human rights activists, she constantly threatened by unknown forces and fundamentalist war lord groups. Therefor she left Afghanistan with her family on Dec 2020.