King Fahad National Library extends weekend hours    SFDA refers illegal cosmetics facility to prosecution over expiry date tampering    King Salman chairs Cabinet session, endorses international cooperation and national development initiatives    GASTAT: Inflation remains stable at 2.3% in June    Saudi Arabia leads MENA in venture capital with $860 million in H1 2025    Saudi tech and innovation delegation explores AI and space partnerships in UK    Trump to slam Russia with 'severe' 100% tariffs if no Ukraine deal is made in 50 days    'Why are you not preventing settler terrorism': Palestinians call out IDF following beating death of American    Former Israeli leader says 'humanitarian city' in Gaza would be a 'concentration camp'    As theories swirl about Air India crash, key details remain unknown    Biggest human imaging study scans 100,000th person    Beyoncé's unreleased music stolen from car during Cowboy Carter tour    First Harry Potter image released as production begins    Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Arabia as Al Nassr head coach on one-year deal    Wirth opens registration for world-class traditional arts programs in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia operates 10 renewable energy projects with SR19.8 billion in investment by end of 2024    Jeddah exhibition showcases 500 years of Makkah and Madinah imagery    Jannik Sinner beats Carlos Alcaraz to win his maiden Wimbledon title    Chelsea defeat PSG 3-0 to win first expanded Club World Cup    Theo Hernández: Al Hilal can compete with Europe's best    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



'I realized Afghan women were still fighting. And I chose to be one of them' First Person
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 17 - 08 - 2022

Nasima*, 36, is a peacebuilder and a women's rights activist in Afghanistan. After the Taliban regained effective control of the country a year ago, she continued to work in Afghanistan, in what would soon become one of the world's most complex humanitarian emergencies.
"I was in my office on 15 August 2021. At 8 a.m., one of my colleagues came in and told me to close the office, and sent all the women home. The Taliban were at the gates of Kabul. I was studying, finalizing my master's degree; I was the leader of a civil society organization; and I was running two businesses.
For the previous 10 months, I had been working on building the biggest network in Afghanistan, that brought women closer to the peace process. Every day, my job was to elevate the voices of Afghan women to the forums where decisions that concerned their future were being made. I was constantly on the ground, traveling from province to province, talking to thousands of Afghan women.
At 11 a.m. that day, I locked my office and went home. Walking home, I saw that the roads were blocked with people trying to get out of Afghanistan. At 6.30 p.m., I saw the Taliban passing by my house for the first time.
Something died inside me on 15 August
I remembered the last time they ruled as if it were yesterday—my mother had to wear a burqa, my neighbor's daughter was married at 11-years-old, and my mother would put a big scarf on me every time we would get out of the house. I was eight. Something died inside me on 15 August 2021, or at least that is how I felt: my hopes crushed, my education irrelevant, my investment in Afghanistan gone.
A lot of dark nights followed. My projects involving women had to be shut down; most of my women staff resigned. But I knew I had to do something. I realized the Afghanistan the Taliban were ruling now was different from the Afghanistan of the 1990s. This time they came after two decades of democracy, two decades of women's rights, where women-led organizations were formed, and women became the main advocates for their own rights. I realized not all these women had left the country; not all the educated men had been evacuated. I realized there were still lots of women fighting inside the country. And I chose to be one of them.
On 1 September, I was ready to go back to work. I called my staff—women and men—and asked them to come back to the office. I changed the focus of our organization, but I continued to work for women only.
I advocated with the Taliban to ensure the protection of our women staff on the ground. I still faced many issues: the doors of our food distribution centers were closed, my staff was beaten, my laptop was taken, my phone was searched, I was asked to stay silent.
But I never gave up. Women would line up at our food distribution centers from 2 a.m. One day, I saw a woman I knew lining up for food. She had a master's degree and used to work for the Ministry of Culture. Thousands of women used to work for ministries across the country. Now, some of them have to line up for a bag of flour to feed their children.
If I reflect over the last year, it is hard to think of anything positive. Women cannot go to work; they have no rights; they cannot even go to school. Violence at home is now normalized and some women are committing suicide—the last resort when their situation becomes unbearable. But I know we are not alone, I know our story is not different—in times of war, in times of peace, women are the ones suffering the most. Afghanistan needs what any other country in the world needs: women to work, to lead, to turn challenges into opportunities. — UN News
* Names, locations, and course of events have been changed in this article to ensure the safety of the Afghan woman human rights defender featured.


Clic here to read the story from its source.