Before arriving and finding refuge in Italy, I was one of the Afghan researchers involved in researching the problems of patients facing pedophilia. I felt threatened by return of the Taliban as I was a university professor and also a writer, as well as being a member of the leadership of the Afghan Women’s Political Participation Network.
With the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, I felt my safety was at risk. In Afghanistan I received threatening messages from some people. Sometimes I received unknown phone calls. They ridiculed me because I practiced as a female psychologist and worked with and supported LGBTQ families. The Taliban viewed my activities as anti-religious and anti-Islamic and for this they desired my death.
For this reason, with the help of journalist Maria Grazia Mazzola, we started from the land border with Pakistan wearing the burqa and arrived
The return of religion and tradition
Afghanistan is a heavily governed country traditions and the religion it is rooted in families. These two issues are among the causes of the backwardness compared to other countries. Eighteen years ago, with the advent of the republican government, the country slowly changed, with the commitment to build the country and advance the tradition. Men and women started fighting together and tried to bring about changes in the country. In that period, universities flourished and so that women could enter society and go to university, families were encouraged to let their daughters go to school and continue their education. Because custom and religion didn’t allow girls to go to school.
Before Republican rule, families required young girls to marry early and they had some kind of economic view on girls and boys. But people who cared about their rights tried to remove many red lines. That’s why many girls, considered all the hardships and pressures of families, with the support of the law and the government that wanted to bring about a change, they continued school and entered university. There has been an increase in cafes and restaurants run by women or businesses run by women and men. Day after day, hope for life and for the future was growing stronger among people. Although there were still difficulties and groups of terrorists carry out attacks occasionally, the Afghan people he resisted and hasn’t stopped trying and moving to have a good and modern life, Despite the few structures and infrastructure in the country.
The reality of Afghan women
Today, women in Afghanistan have been completely eliminated. Gender apartheid has occurred in Afghanistan. Women have lost all their basic rights as human beings. They don’t even have the right to use public toilets to wash. They cannot have any business. They are all hostages of the Taliban who abuse women. Women don’t have the right to study, work, not even go to the hairdresser. And Afghan women don’t accept the Taliban regime, they would like to overthrow this system. And they don’t want to live under the rule of this system which is against humanity and against religion.
The fact that many women in Taliban torture centers are pregnant, even by the Taliban themselves, as well as the increase in child marriage and child sexual abuse of pedophile patients in Afghanistan, is terrible news reaching us. There is help for these sounds. Also, it must be said that these are a small fraction of the events and incidents that we hear about, there are certainly more horrific events that people don’t report in the media out of shame and fear.
Unfortunately, the women who remained in Afghanistan, and the activists who were in the political sectors and in the previous government, continue to be in danger. Sometimes it is not always clear where the Taliban’s center of power is, often chaos reigns and some people have abused the chaos to settle the scores they had with some women, as in the case of the murder of Mursal Nabizada. There is a proverb that says “in a city where there is no liar, the frog will reign”.
A network for Afghanistan
The Afghan women’s political participation network fights for justice and equality and is far from any ethnicity, racism and supremacy. He fights against every group and system that is against humanity. This network respects the beliefs and beliefs of its members and as long as these beliefs are not a problem for others and do not impede the activities of others, it respects all of them and does not promote or endorse any religion or belief except humanity.
In this context, the network is a movement close to Afghanistan, the network is in the heart and among the people. Most of the members are inside Afghanistan and all work and fight secretly, but some of the top leaders have departed and now they seek to create a strong platform to support women and bring their voice to the world. To survive and keep their families and other women safe, these leaders had to leave the country through hidden and secure channels so they could continue the fight. This network has helped many women leave Afghanistan. Any person who wants to be the voice of the people of Afghanistan and the fight against religious extremism can join this network.
Cover photo ANSA/MSF