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The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
‘The world is deaf' — the life of Afghanistan's forgotten women
In August of 2021, I was in Kabul with my infant daughter, waiting to apply for her identification card, when I learned the Taliban had officially seized power in Afghanistan. As I looked down at my baby, my first thought was the need to seek our safety. My second: We have to fight. In the first objective, I was fortunate. My family and I were able to flee Afghanistan to Poland. But for the millions of my fellow Afghani citizens who were not so lucky, their lives are now a nightmare. Women and girls in particular are living a special form of hell. After two decades of unprecedented progress and opportunity, they risk public punishment — beatings or worse — for showing their hair or walking alone. It doesn't matter if a woman was previously a judge, journalist, a doctor or a professor. Today, she is barred from holding nearly all jobs, attending parks and gyms and even beauty salons. Young girls cannot attend school beyond sixth grade, leaving 1.4 million unable to learn. The stories I have heard from the women surviving in this dystopian universe, trickled through whispers and covert messaging apps, have shaken me to my core. A young woman was abducted, raped and tortured for refusing to give up her job at a hospital — then warned not to speak to any international media about what she had endured. Another was nearly stoned to death for seeking a divorce from an abusive marriage. A former female police officer was beaten in Taliban custody. For every story I hear, I know there are hundreds of others that are not getting out. Between January 2022 and June 2024, Afghan Witness documented 840 incidents of gender-based violence against women and girls in Afghanistan, including 332 killings, based on open-source information. The Taliban has of course, abolished the legal framework and institutions dedicated to protecting women — like the Ministry of Women's Affairs, family courts, and prosecution units for gender-based violence, so that victims are left without protection, perpetrators act with near-impunity, perpetuating the cycle. I am confident this situation would engender global outrage if it were happening in Europe or the U.S. But the international response has been limited to symbolic statements, weak sanctions, and grossly underfunded aid. The U.S and European Union sanctions against the Taliban don't mean much when countries that host and support them remain untouched. With the world's attention turned elsewhere, Afghan women are trying to force change unilaterally at great personal risk. They run underground schools, whispering lessons in secret. They organize protests and try to relay their dire straits to the outside world. 'We are not silent,' one woman told me. 'The world is deaf.' Their courage deserves to be rewarded with solidarity and acknowledgement, but most importantly action to force real change. This can include funding the fight for women's rights. Grassroots projects like the Afghan Women's Network run underground schools on shoestring budgets. There should also be sanctions against national governments that enable the Taliban, such as Pakistan and Qatar. Ban them from global forums like the G20 and impose real trade restrictions until they take responsibility. We must elevate Afghan women's voices, amplifying their strategies and solutions, not just their suffering. Programs like the Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund help women lead change in their own communities and deserve far greater support. We have seen some progress in the international arena. On July 8, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Supreme Leader Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani for crimes against humanity, including gender- and political-based persecution from August 2021 to January 2025. And Groups like the World Liberty Congress, the world's largest global alliance of dissidents, human rights defenders, and pro-democracy leaders, are working diligently to implement these objectives. But we need more support. The world must not look away. This fight is not just about Afghanistan — it's about defending dignity and freedom everywhere. If we fail to act now, history will remember our silence as complicity.
Arab News
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
UK rejects asylum plea from Afghan human rights defender
LONDON: An Afghan woman who risked her life defending human rights in her country has had her UK asylum claim rejected, The Guardian reported on Saturday. Mina, whose name has been changed for anonymity reasons, supported Western-backed projects across Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover in 2021. She traveled to Britain following the withdrawal of the Western coalition, but has now been told by the Home Office that it is safe for her to return. 'I assumed my asylum claim would be granted — I am from Afghanistan, I'm a woman, I worked with Western governments,' she said. 'The refusal was an absolute shock. Now every day I fear being sent back to my home country. Having a normal life here looks like a dream for me. I'm really suffering mentally.' Previously, the Home Office had generally accepted asylum claims from women like Mina, yet 26 Afghan women were rejected in the last three months of 2024, statistics show. Mina's solicitor Jamie Bell said: 'It is shocking that 26 Afghan women were refused asylum in the last quarter. However this is a particularly upsetting case where the Home Office states that a woman who risked her life defending women's rights in Afghanistan would not be at risk on return. 'The UK should be proud to offer protection to an individual like her. This refusal letter is offensive to all those who defended Western values in Afghanistan and who ought to be offered protection when they cannot safely return.' In total, 2,000 Afghan asylum-seekers had their claims rejected in the last three months of 2024 — a surge from 48 in the same period of 2023. Mina said: 'When I was working with Western government projects, I received security training about how to respond if I was caught up in a bombing or a kidnapping. Every day I was a few minutes or a few seconds away from bomb blasts. 'My heart beat so fast when I had to pass the checkpoints. Every morning when I said goodbye to my family to go to work I thought it might be the last time I saw them. 'Some of my colleagues just disappeared. The Taliban changed the Ministry of Women's Affairs to the Ministry of Vice and Virtue — proper, systematic elimination of women.' Women and girls face serious risks to their safety in Afghanistan, a Human Rights Watch report published this year found. Mina had personally told Home Office interviewers of the dangers she faced in Afghanistan as a result of her work. But the official who rejected her claim said: 'It is considered that you do not face a real risk of persecution or harm on your return to Afghanistan on the basis of your claimed adverse attention by the Taliban.' The letter Mina received detailing her rejection added that she 'likely has a great support network' due to her occupation. The Home Office found that 'there are no compassionate factors' in her case that would 'warrant a grant of leave to remain outside the immigration rules.' Mina said: 'When I arrived here, I felt safe. I thought I would have a chance to live. In Afghanistan I had not been considered a human. I learned to ride a bicycle here, something I was not allowed to do in my country. 'I was really full of hope that my life would change. But someone pressed pause on my life. I hope someone will press play again.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.'
The Guardian
05-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Afghan rights defender told she faces ‘no risk' from Taliban as Home Office denies asylum
An Afghan woman who risked her life to defend human rights in her home country before fleeing to the UK has been told by the Home Office it is safe for her to return after officials rejected her asylum claim. Mina (not her real name) worked for western government-backed projects and was involved in training and mentoring women across Afghanistan, which left her in grave danger even before the Taliban took over in 2021. 'I assumed my asylum claim would be granted – I am from Afghanistan, I'm a woman, I worked with western governments,' said Mina. 'The refusal was an absolute shock. Now every day I fear being sent back to my home country. Having a normal life here looks like a dream for me. I'm really suffering mentally. 'When I was working with western government projects I received security training about how to respond if I was caught up in a bombing or a kidnapping. Every day I was a few minutes or a few seconds away from bomb blasts. 'My heart beat so fast when I had to pass the checkpoints. Every morning when I said goodbye to my family to go to work I thought it might be the last time I saw them,' she said. 'Some of my colleagues just disappeared. The Taliban changed the Ministry of Women's Affairs to the Ministry of Vice and Virtue – proper, systematic elimination of women.' The Home Office has previously generally accepted protection claims from women like Mina who could be targeted by the Taliban because of their high-profile work empowering women and who have provided evidence of their work with western government projects. But in the most recent data for the last three months of 2024 immigration statistics show 26 Afghan women had their claims rejected. Overall 2,000 Afghan asylum seekers had their claims refused, an increase from 48 in the same quarter of 2023. The grant rate for Afghan cases has gone down from 98.5% in the last quarter of 2023 to 36% in the last quarter of 2024. The 2025 Human Rights Watch report into Afghanistan documents a serious deterioration in the rights of girls and women and an increase in risks to their safety. Although Mina explained in her Home Office asylum interview of the dangers she faced in Afghanistan because of the work she did a Home Office decision maker who rejected her claim, concluded that: 'It is considered that you do not face a real risk of persecution or harm on your return to Afghanistan on the basis of your claimed adverse attention by the Taliban.' The refusal letter adds: 'You likely have a great support network due to your occupation.' However many of those Mina worked with prior to the Taliban takeover are either in hiding or have fled the country and these support networks have largely been destroyed. 'There are no compassionate factors in your case that warrant a grant of leave to remain outside the immigration rules,' the letter states. 'When I arrived here I felt safe,' Mina said. 'I thought I would have a chance to live. In Afghanistan I had not been considered a human. I learnt to ride a bicycle here, something I was not allowed to do in my country. I was really full of hope that my life would change. But someone pressed pause on my life. I hope someone will press play again.' Her solicitor Jamie Bell of Duncan Lewis said: 'It is shocking that 26 Afghan women were refused asylum in the last quarter. However this is a particularly upsetting case where the Home Office states that a woman who risked her life defending women's rights in Afghanistan would not be at risk on return. The UK should be proud to offer protection to an individual like her. This refusal letter is offensive to all those who defended western values in Afghanistan and who ought to be offered protection when they cannot safely return.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.'
