“Every day, I endure insults, humiliation and ongoing death threats from the Taliban”

Sakina

women’s rights expert, Parwan

An older woman with her child sits outside her home, looking sideways at the valley.

“I’m Sakina, a women’s rights activist from Parwan. After the Taliban came to power, everything became difficult for me, even breathing.

For someone who was responsible for the Women’s Affairs Directorate for 12 years and served as the Deputy for Social Affairs of a province for two years, it’s very painful not to be allowed to go to the park, let alone be able to go to work and fulfil their duties, which seems nearly impossible.

The tough economic conditions, life’s challenges, and providing basic human needs have become very difficult for me, and this life has become very challenging.

I am someone who fought for 20 years for women’s rights, human values, improving the economic situation, promoting intellectual and skills, and fighting violence against women. But now the Taliban do not recognize any rights or dignity for all of us women. The Taliban have excluded us from all social spheres, and we have no permission to engage in any form of social presence or activity. This situation has affected me deeply and wounded my mind and spirit.

In the past, women had a specific place and rights. We were active in politics, had the right to make decisions, pursue an education and participate in society.

However, in the current circumstances, being deprived of all our basic human rights, every day I endure insults, humiliation and ongoing death threats from the Taliban, which is very painful and distressing. I am currently living with severe depression. It’s heartbreaking to see a lifetime of 20 years spent fighting for women’s rights [evaporate], and now I am witnessing my 10-year-old daughter unable to go to school. It’s disheartening to feel that being a woman means being imprisoned, being an exceedingly weak creature and being confined to a life as a household servant.

I’m sure that with the imposition of such strict decisions that deny women any form of activity, the statistics of underage and forced marriage and of suicide among girls and women will increase. We have already had several cases in Parwan. Before, the organizations I worked for, as well as other organizations, considered women’s rights and advocacy very important, and most of the issues facing women were addressed.

However, now, with no organizations working for women, unfortunately, it’s the opposite. All Taliban institutions are working to suppress women and silence their voices.

Women are living in a state of psychological torture. I really feel suppressed and helpless, because I can neither accept this situation nor overcome these conditions quickly. My pain and the sorrow of the women in my home country cannot be put into words. Every day I become more hopeless, stranded, needy and deprived compared to the day before.”

“I feel like my fingers and my pencils have been chained”

A young woman paints a picture of a woman in a burqa