Part 9

‘In Kabul we can’t afford a loaf of bread or paracetamol anymore’

Three weeks have passed since the fall of Kabul. If one dares to go outside, then all you see is the Taliban – with their guns roaming around – very few women can be seen outside. The men too are fearful and want to stay away from any sort of confrontation. Just over a month ago, male municipality workers, and in some areas of Kabul, even female workers could be seen sweeping the main roads and trying to keep the city clean. Now the roads are dirty, and you don’t see the municipality workers around. Food prices are shooting up and there is shortage of medicine in big cities around the country.

Hashima (not her real name) in a conversation with me stated, “One month changed everything. It seems as if life has gone upside down.”

On being asked to clarify, she added, “look, I am a government teacher, I can hardly afford food. We have no money to buy the daily stuff.”

Another resident of Kabul added, “My husband has been to the bank for the past three days but has not been able to withdraw money. There is so much rush, and almost no money. Tell me, how will we survive.”

In the west of Kabul city, a family wants to sell their furniture and household items. The man tries hard to hold his tears and said, “I worked hard for years to build a home and give a good life to my family but now I have to sell everything. I want to leave the country but have no money to do so. The only way was to sell everything.”

An old man sitting nearby adds, “I had not imagined that we would have to leave again. Most of my life, we were refugees and now once again after 20 years we have to think about leaving, if we don’t leave, we will not survive.”

A lady doctor who didn’t want to be named told me, “We were asked to be present in the hospitals. I went one day but it was chaotic. There is a shortage of medicine and also no one wants to work under such a harsh regime. Everyone wants to leave, and I decided not to go to work.”

Her mother adds, “The day she was going to hospital, I told her to wear a hijab and avoid makeup. I was scared they might beat her. She has already not been paid for two months and we are literally running out of cash, still it’s better she stays home and not go. The fear of her being there will kill me so it’s better she stays home.”

Ask people around the city and they will complain about the food prices. Oil, wheat, rice, gas …prices for everything are high.

A former municipality employee said to me, “My salary was 6000 Afghanis ($ 80 or so). I really do not know how to manage everything. Distant relatives would send money from abroad in the past and we would manage but now everything has stopped. If we have breakfast, we don’t know what to eat for lunch or dinner.”

He cries and adds, “Is this what we deserved? Why do Afghans have to suffer for such a long period?. We are not even able to buy bread or a packet of Paracetamol.”

Asked if he wants to tell anything to the world and he said, “What can I ask them? They have already abandoned us. We will die from hunger. What can I ask them, nothing!”

Posted: Sept 2, 2012.

Yasmin Afghan

 Part 10

A city with one gender, stinks

Afghan women’s struggle has a long history. They have always played an active role in the fight against occupiers. One such example is Malalai Mawiwandi who is well-known for her role during the struggle for independence, and some consider her a reason for the victory of the Maiwand battle in 1880.

Soraya Tarzi, the wife of King Amanullah Khan stood next to him for the reforms he introduced, and she was the first to come out in the public without covering her face. This paved the way for women to play a more active role in public life.

The invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet forces in 1979, saw women come to the streets and demonstrate against the occupiers. They played their role in the resistance against the soviets. Women were confined to the four walls of their houses from the 1992-1996 when the Taliban were ruling Afghanistan and many activists had fled the country during the civil war but were actively working against the Mujahideens in Pakistan and elsewhere.

The Taliban came to power easily after the civil war and controlled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Women were beaten for simply wearing white shoes, or laughing loudly, they were sometimes stoned to death. They were invisible in the public life. It felt as if Afghanistan was only a men’s country and women’s didn’t exist.

The American and NATO invasion paradoxically brought some changes for women, like being able to have access to education and employment. Afghan women started to have representatives in Parliament and women’s rights groups and civil society flourished. Women started to be visible in public life, from being ministers to governors, directors, to army and police officers. The demand for better participation in political and public spheres grew.

On August 15, 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul without any resistance as the formerex. President had fled. The city was vacant the next day as everyone feared for the worst, but a group of five young Afghan women came out and defied the Taliban.

This was the start of demonstrations against the Taliban. The young activists who were mainly university students, demanded equal rights and participation in political and public sectors. Soon, this protest was followed by a protest in Herat city. Around 60 students, activists, teachers and government employees came out and chanted “don’t be afraid, we are together”. They also had a declaration that stated educational, political, and economic deprivation of women is a symbol of tyranny, discrimination, and violence. They said , “we cannot accept a system that wants to eliminate us and ignore our rights.”

The next day, Kabul witnessed another protest and women came out and demanded they equal rights. Soon this protest was followed by another protest where they chanted , “Afghan women will not accept confinement and long live democracy, justice, and freedom.”

People in Nimroz, a province in the southwest of Afghanistan, woke up to the protest of women asking for their share in power. In a protest the women in Mazar city stated that exclusive government without the participation of women had no meaning. They also chanted, “we will not wear chadri (burqa).” “A city with one gender, stinks”. They also demanded their rights and freedom in every sphere of life.

This is the first waves of protest in different cities of Afghanistan. These protests will most likely continue as the Taliban have already stated that women cannot be in decision making positions and will have rights within Sharia.

The Taliban do not quite realize that the last time they were in power was 20 years ago and the women and especially the new generation of young Afghans will not bow to their brutalities and will fight for their rights.

Life under the Taliban

Yasmeen Afghan