Each year, International Women’s Day serves as a collective moment to recognise the progress made as a society while also prompting reflection on the persistent challenges faced by women globally.
In Afghanistan, the resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 has led to a stark decline in women’s safety and freedoms, as highlighted by Mansfield local Hamida Samar, a Hazara woman who fled Afghanistan due to her work with the previous Afghan government.
“Young women and girls in Afghanistan can no longer leave the house without male protection,” she said.
“They are being kidnapped and subjected to horrific persecution, including imprisonment, forced marriage and rape.
“Married women are forced to carry their marriage certificate as proof that the man with them is their husband.
“If they forget their certificate, they also face imprisonment, forced marriage and rape.
“Women cannot talk about their experiences on social media or elsewhere as they will become the target of the Taliban.
“It is so important that the world raises its voice in support of women and girls in Afghanistan.”
The Taliban’s policies have stripped away the most basic human rights of girls and women, creating an escalation of violence and oppression against them.
Under Taliban rule, Afghan girls and women face severe restrictions: they can no longer leave the house without a male relative; girls are denied access to schooling beyond the age of 12; and women can only work in female-designated areas, such as health care — and even there, their safety is not assured.
Tragically, many young girls are forced into marrying Taliban fighters, subjecting them to exploitation and abuse, and practices such as stoning have been reinstated in rural areas.
In response to these dire circumstances, Hazara women in Shepparton, having established the Goulburn Valley Afghan Women’s Association, launched a bold initiative on March 8, in collaboration with Rural Australians for Refugees, Women for Change, and Azadi-e Zan (which means ‘free woman’).
The groups collaboratively established a 12-month campaign, ‘We Stand with Women and Girls in Afghanistan’, to raise awareness and advocate for Afghan females’ safety, freedom and education.
“Girls and women in Afghanistan are locked up in a very dark cage,” Women for Change founder Lida Hazara Nayeeb said.
“They are physically removed from society, hidden in their dwellings, and the light of education is turned off.
“Women and girls in Afghanistan have no hope that they will be free to live normal lives; their only hope is the support of women around the world.”
We Stand with Women and Girls in Afghanistan seeks to raise awareness and advocate for their safety, freedom and education.
The organisations are calling on political leaders and communities to stand in solidarity with Afghan women.
Azadi-e Zan executive director Sarah Hutchison urged the Federal Government to take immediate action.
“The Australian Government needs to urgently find more creative ways to support education, hope and opportunity for all women and girls in Afghanistan,” she said.
Ms Hutchinson called on the government to prioritise visa processing for women at high risk, including defenders of women’s human rights.
Women’s groups and organisations across Australia are invited to join the We Stand with Women and Girls in Afghanistan campaign and add their voices to the ongoing plea to restore the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls.