This unaltered story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.org.
License [2]: Creative Commons 4.0 - Attributions/No Derivities/Int'l.
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The Afghan woman activist still determined to educate girls

By:   []

Date: 2021-09 

“I was in Ghazni when I found out about the Taliban taking over Kabul. I froze and couldn’t move until tears started flowing down my cheeks,” narrates Zarlasht Wali.

A 26-year-old English teacher, human rights activist and a firm supporter of girls’ education, Wali has since moved to a relative’s home in Kabul, nearly 150 kilometres to the north-east.

“When we heard about provinces falling under the Taliban’s control one by one, we hoped Kabul would stand strong,” she says. Three days before the Taliban took control of the capital, insurgents led an offensive on Ghazni, her home town. “Ghazni fell three days before Kabul, but we still had hope for our future. But when our capital fell on 15 August, I feared it was truly the end of our freedom.”

Taliban checkpoints

She and other women educators are already facing restrictions at Taliban checkpoints. “After Kabul fell, I wanted to come here from Ghazni to attend meetings and discuss how to proceed and what lies ahead for our girls’ education campaigns,” she explains, “but passing the checkpoints has ignited a sense of fear in us.

“The Taliban are checking if we have painted our nails, if we’re wearing high heels and whether we have smartphones. We are unable to travel across districts without a ‘mahram’ [a male guardian], who has to be your husband, brother or father. They are not letting us through if unaccompanied.”

Moving around the country without a male guardian, the freedom to work and to stand for elections are some of the rights that women in Afghanistan are fighting for.
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