Muska Gailani’s statement about the situation of women in Afghanistan is shocking. The young women’s rights activist heads the “Afghan Women Council” organization in Kabul, which has been supporting women and girls in the country for almost 40 years.
Legend: Muska Gailani, head of the Afghan Women Council, supports girls and women in health, education and law. SRF
Gailani’s work is more needed than ever. Since the Taliban returned to power, they have issued numerous bans that prevent women and girls from exercising their basic rights to expression, freedom, work and education.
The rule of the Taliban
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The Taliban have ruled with a hard hand since August 2021. They have come under international criticism, particularly because of the massive curtailment of women’s rights.
That is why no country in the world has so far formally recognized the Taliban government. Western countries warn against entering Afghanistan. The West has also largely stopped aid to Afghanistan.
According to that World Food Programme According to the UN, two thirds of the population were dependent on humanitarian aid in 2023. The healthcare system is in ruins.
In Afghanistan, access to health care, especially for women, has deteriorated dramatically, according to a current report (February 12, 2024) by the human rights organization Human Rights Watch.
“You get the feeling that women should just be put in a sack and hidden somewhere so that no one can see that they exist,” accuses Muska Gailani. Since the day the Taliban came to power, women have always been the target – despite the Islamists’ promises to the contrary when they came to power in August 2021.
The fight for women’s rights
Gailani is in charge of the «Afghan Women Council»taken over by her mother Fatana Gailani. The Gailani family is one of the most influential families in the country.
Mother Fatana Gailani is one of the most prominent advocates for the rights of Afghan women and has worked for decades to combat illiteracy.
Father Ishaq Gailani is a former influential politician in the country. The family’s many contributions to the country enable Muska Gailani to express herself clearly and to get involved even under the rule of the Taliban – until now without having to fear repression.
NGOs under the Taliban
The foundation is a glimmer of hope for Fatana Gailani «Swisscross». Her daughter, Muska Gailani, has recently been representing this Swiss foundation in Kabul – contrary to a directive from the Taliban that prohibits women from working for foreign organizations.
The Zurich cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon Enrique Steiger founded the “Swisscross” foundation. In addition to his work as a plastic surgeon, he has been working in crisis areas around the world for decades.
With his foundation, he trains local medical staff to provide emergency aid. This has also been the case in Afghanistan since this year. Steiger has been working in Afghanistan for more than 15 years. On behalf of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), he built a provincial hospital in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. Now he is involved in his own foundation.
Legend: The Zurich cosmetic surgeon Enrique Steiger does humanitarian work in Afghanistan. SRF
«Of course it is provocative that we chose a woman. We want to be a modern foundation in Afghanistan,” says Steiger. Muska Gailani represents a modern woman from Afghanistan.
The partners of “Swisscross” have to get used to the fact that a woman will represent the foundation in Afghanistan, continued Steiger.
There are few job opportunities available to women in Afghanistan. Muska Gailani has to find back doors and unconventional paths for her work.
Her network and the experience of the foundation help her in this. While Muska Gailani works in the background, her male employees, for example, have to represent their boss against the Taliban.
High mortality rate among women and children
When it comes to women’s work under the Taliban, the healthcare system is a gray area. Women work here as midwives, nurses and doctors. In hospitals, the prescribed gender segregation is even dispensed with; in the university hospitals in Kabul, men and women work side by side.
The only leadership positions in the country held by women are in the healthcare sector. There should be three in total across the country, says Hassan Abbas, professor of international relations at the National Defense University in Washington, in his book “The Return of the Taliban” (Yale University Press, 2023).
Legend: Arian Ayoub is director of the Kabul Women’s Clinic. SRF
One of them is Arian Ayoub. She is the director of the women’s clinic at Kabul University. The hospital has 30 beds. Shockingly little for a big city of four million people.
The health care situation is particularly catastrophic for women. The country has one of the highest female and child mortality rates in the world. There are far too few female doctors.
Many have left the country. Training others is almost impossible due to the ban on education. “Hopefully the schools and the university will reopen,” complains Arian Ayoub.
Civil disobedience and online education
Despite exclusion and oppression, at least in healthcare, there are glimmers of hope for women. The Taliban of today are not the Taliban of the first period of rule from 1996 to 2001.
Apparently there are major differences of opinion within the management team, which are only slightly communicated to the outside world. The hardliners are in charge.
But various experts in the country, such as the professor and author Hassan Abbas, observe that the young generation is more open than the old, especially towards women’s rights.
Legend: Maiwand Ahmadsei is a radiation oncologist at the University Hospital Zurich. SRF
Like the Swiss surgeon Enrique Steiger, Maiwand Ahmadsei, who works in Zurich, is also committed to women in Afghanistan.
According to him, there is this civil disobedience among the population that makes it possible for him and his large, international team to do their work: “The younger generation does not agree at all that this school and university ban is being enforced so consistently. While the hardliners really want that. There is an opportunity for us in this gray area.”
Legend: Afghan students are taught online from abroad, but also in Afghanistan. SRF
From Zurich, Ahmadsei and his team offer training for students in Afghanistan. Midwives and nurses can receive further training to become doctors. The government knows about the training project and is letting it happen. Finally, the shortage of medical staff is huge.
Further study digitally and on site is not officially declared, but is tolerated by the Taliban. However, there is still no solution in sight for a final exam.
Whether this development points to a freer future for the country’s women remains an open question. Hope dies last.