MY MESSAGE TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IS THAT THEY SHOULD TAKE PRACTICAL STEPS, NOT JUST CONDUCT MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS, AS TALKING WILL NOT SOLVE AFGHAN WOMEN’S ISSUES
Tamana
Tamana has been a committed activist for 15 years in her province, running a youth-focused civil society organization for the past seven. She has also worked as a government public school teacher and has written several articles about issues affecting women’s lives. She has worked to confront gender discrimination, conducted awareness sessions for different groups of people to learn about the importance of girl’s education, and provided work opportunities for many jobless women in her province.
“I am 34 years old and have 15 years of work experience in different fields, as a civil activist and as a government primary school teacher.
Since the Taliban takeover, for my own security and safety, I have not been able to continue working for Afghan women and girls.
The most significant change in my life has been losing my job. I am a single mother of three children and losing my job has not been easy. Currently, I am facing a very bad financial situation. I don’t know how I am going to pay for my rent or food and continue with life.
The most painful moment was when my eldest daughters did not get permission to get an education. One was in 8th and the second was in the 7th grade and now they are both at home. Their dark future really scares me.
The most important issue to me is girls’ education. I am a mother of two daughters and now both are at home, as they are not allowed to go to school. Secondly, women should be allowed to work.
I hope that we all Afghan women get our jobs back and get the chance to take part in politics and our country’s development.
The international community and UN should support women and girls to obtain basic rights like an education and a job. They should provide work opportunities to women and girls. They should build markets for businesswomen to promote their businesses. Simply providing humanitarian aid is not enough. We need permanent opportunities like markets and factories to enable us to stand on our own feet and support our families.”
