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When the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, for the second time in a generation, women in the country face systematic denial of their rights and access to universities, schools and NGO work.
Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, Global News reached out to women and people on the ground as Taliban attacks on women continue to escalate. In some cases, the names have been changed for the safety of people in this report. The Taliban have repeatedly harassed and killed critics.
But still, some speak out in the hope that Canadians will not forget them.
Faramarz is the pseudonym of a woman who says she lives in a prison called Afghanistan. She was finishing her law degree and finishing her last semester at the university – so close to her dream of graduating from school, but in the blink of an eye, this goal became so far away.
“I was working at home on my research and I heard online that girls are not allowed to go to university,” she said, referring to the December 2022 Taliban decision.
“And it was very hard for me, I felt very bad and could not speak for several minutes.”
Afghan female students stand outside Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan December 21, 2022.
(AP Photo/Ebrahim Noruzi, file)
The decree was issued while she was doing research for her dissertation on December 20, 2022. Faramarz chose to fight the Taliban’s ideology by participating in protests that put her life at risk.
“Taliban [wanted] shoot us. But then they said: “Why are you participating in this protest? Where is your leader? Faramarz remembered.
“They told us, ‘If you participate in this program again, we will kill you.’
She did not give up and is ready to defend her rights.
“Home is like a prison for us, and we will fight until we legalize our basic human rights without any discrimination. “
Read more:
Afghanistan is a “catastrophe” after a year of Taliban rule. What’s in the future?
A few days after banning women and girls from studying at universities, the Taliban also banned girls and women from working for non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Shokria Etemadi, an engineer who worked for an NGO, was forced to resign by order of the Taliban.
“Before the Taliban rule, I had an exam for a new leadership position. I passed the exam and after the exam I was invited to an online interview. Then I had an interview,” she said.
“At the end of the interview, I was told that you cannot join us because of the rules and regulations of the Taliban. And it’s so hard for me.”
Now she and her family suffer from poverty.
“I am the breadwinner of my family. There are only four of us in the family: me, my sister and my parents. My father is sick now. We have nothing to cook in the kitchen for dinner or for the night,” she said.
“It’s so hard for me. I don’t know how I can continue to live.”
The Taliban’s decrees are causing psychological problems such as depression in girls and women in Afghanistan.
Dr. Sharfuddin Azimi, a psychologist in Kabul, says more than 50 percent of his clients are women who suffer from depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“In some cases, women and clients tell me they don’t want to live; they want death. They say, “We don’t love life. Our life is not like that of people, like women in other countries,” said Dr. Azimi.
He said the situation is so dangerous that many women choose suicide or substance abuse, or they are desperate to leave Afghanistan.
Read more:
Taliban redouble efforts to ban women from taking university entrance exams
Every week a report is published in the local media about the suicides of women and girls in Afghanistan, but the exact number of suicides is unknown.
In the city of Zaranjin, Nimroz Province, a local report reported that a young girl hanged herself because of a ban on female education. She was one of the thousands of girls and women who face hardship and suffering in Afghanistan.
NDP MP Heather McPherson urged the Canadian government to ensure the safety of Afghan women and girls.
“It has not been possible to prepare an exemption for humanitarian assistance so that organizations – Canadian organizations that want to provide support in Afghanistan – can do it,” McPherson said.
She added: “I will continue to push the government to do this important job. People’s lives are in danger. I can also say that there are members of all parties who insist on it.”
Canadian Women for Afghan Women (CW4WAfghan) is one organization trying to help Afghan girls through online educational programs.
“We have several different programs. We have different grades. We have professional courses for adults as well. So in all of them, hundreds of people are learning online learning,” said Lauryn Oates, group chief executive.
“(CW4Waffan) and many other organizations are working with the Canadian government to solve the big student visa problem.”
Care Canada was one of three non-governmental organizations temporarily suspended in Afghanistan when the Taliban announced a ban on women working for non-governmental organizations in December last year.
Despite some changes, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Read more:
Afghan ambassador urges Taliban to keep Canadian embassy open
“Exceptions have been made, one of which concerns health programs and then, more recently, primary education. As such, we have been able to restart some of our programs in these areas,” said Maxime Michel, Director of Global Programs at Care Canada.
“While there have been some changes, there is still a lot of work to be done.”
At the same time, Faramarz and the thousands of other girls and women suffering in Afghanistan look to the support of the international community and countries like Canada.
“Please support Afghan girls, Afghan women,” Faramarz said.
Etemadi bluntly described what it is like to be a woman in Afghanistan now that the Taliban continue their crackdown: “The poorest women in the world, the saddest women in the world. Now we are alone.”
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