Afghanistan: Women’s rights activist wants to negotiate with Taliban



interview

Status: 01.09.2021 5:01 p.m.

Zarifa Ghafari and her family have made a risky escape from Afghanistan. The youngest Afghan mayor and women’s rights activist speaks in an interview about how things are going in Afghanistan and her personal mission.

Zafira Ghafari has been here in Germany for a week. The youngest Afghan mayor and women’s rights activist managed to get on a plane in Kabul at risk of death and flee to Germany via Turkey. Their goal was Hilden. Here she has an aunt with whom she and her husband are staying. She talks to our author about what the developments mean for the fate of women and how she is fighting for the rights of Afghan women from Germany.

WDR: How did you deal with your risky escape from Afghanistan, and how safe do you feel now?

Zarifa Ghafari: As for myself, I now feel safe. I’m more concerned about the people who are still stuck in Kabul. That’s why I can’t be as relaxed as I would like to be. I can’t sleep at night and lie awake until three or four a.m. every night. I can’t talk about it yet. It’s a lot harder to process than words can express.

WDR: How can you keep in touch with your family and friends?

Ghafari: Fortunately, my family is here in Germany. Only one of my brothers is still in Turkey. I hope I can catch up with him. I communicate a lot with friends via social networks and email. Unfortunately, everyone who has been in contact with me, the colleagues in my office, all women who have worked with me, is in great danger. They are all afraid for their lives.

WDR: Do you believe the Taliban when they say that women and girls are allowed to go to school?

Ghafari: Words are one thing. But we will only see what the Taliban think of their promises over a long period of time. In many provinces in which the Taliban had already been present, women were not allowed to go to school or attend university. Also in the past, for example before 2001, they made promises that women would keep their rights. It didn’t take long and women had no basic rights, jobs, or education. So I can’t trust them. But with negotiations, pressure and talks we have to get the Taliban to treat women equally, because without 50 percent of the population they cannot rule either.

WDR: What do you hope for from the Western governments, and what can the German government do for women in Afghanistan?

Ghafari: The most important thing for me is that the Taliban and their leaders are put under pressure to grant all people, but especially women, their basic rights. We have to start a new chapter. The Taliban will not go away, no one will come back and throw them out of the country like in 2001. So we have to work with them and talk to them about what we want and hear what they can offer us.

Armed men and boys in southern Afghanistan are happy about the withdrawal of the Americans after 20 years.

Image: Sanaullah Seiam via www.imago-images.de

WDR: How do you feel inside when you think of Afghan women?

Ghafari: I can’t even express it in words, it brings together so much that nobody can imagine. I know how difficult it is. I talked to the women who had to give up their dreams and their hopes. There are people who dream of a better future, but who have now lost everything. I have a strong empathy for that.

WDR: This is your first time in Germany. How does that feel to you?

Ghafari: Every time I leave the house I see people who are not afraid, who do not have any big problems. I see life on the street and wonder why? We are just as human. We have been fighting for everything in our lives and our country for years.

WDR: You were very young when you took a big risk to become mayor of Afghanistan. Why did you do that?

Ghafari: Every change the world goes through needs a starting point. I wanted to do that too, I wanted to prove that women can do it. In order to show what kind of influence women can exert, I took the risk of life and all other hurdles on myself.

WDR: How will you continue your work from Germany?

Ghafari: The only reason I’m not in Afghanistan is because I want to be a loud voice for the people and especially the women. It will take time, I was working to start a kind of global solidarity movement for women in Afghanistan. Hopefully this can ensure that governments around the world see this movement and put pressure on the Taliban. At the moment I’m jumping from one interview to the next, talking to people and reporting on what’s going on in Afghanistan. The Taliban are here, now it’s a matter of making it clear to them that they cannot rule without women.

Astrid Linn conducted the interview.



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