“Hear Our Cries”: What Terrifies an Afghan Women’s Rights Activist


In early August, after devoting herself for more than 12 years to various aspects of women’s rights, K, whose full name will not be shared for her protection, and her family fled her home in Balkh province in northern Afghanistan. The Taliban had seized Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital. A district governor in the same province, Salima Mazari, a fierce politician in her own right, took up arms to fight the Taliban, but was recently captured by the militant group, and her whereabouts are currently unknown.

K and her family, including her two young children, are in hiding at a friend’s house in Kabul, a city that she believed would be safer and more prepared to resist the Taliban than the less equipped provincial towns. But to her horror, within days of their arrival, the Taliban seized the country’s capital. I spoke with her on August 20, just five days after Kabul fell to the Taliban. K was overwhelmed with emotions of fear, despair, and betrayal, and emphasized the need for the “world to hear our cries.” As a mother, she was particularly afraid for the future of her country and the safety and security of her young children.

Unlike many of her colleagues, K has remained in Afghanistan, and has spent the last few days on the phone reassuring her trainees back in Balkh that she has not forgotten about them. She told me, “We [my fellow women activists and I] are extremely worried about the future of Afghanistan, and we want to reassure our fellow Afghans that we are here for them, making their voices heard for the world. This is our moral responsibility.”

—Mona Tajali

Mona Tajali: With the recent takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, what worries you the most?

K: Together with countless other women’s rights activists, I have spent the last two decades investing in our home, our society, our children, and the girls of this country who face many obstacles. All of the advancements we have made are in danger of being reversed overnight. How can we remain hopeful when all that we have worked for is now under threat?

As someone who has led various women’s rights initiatives, I am worried for myself, but also for the women who worked for us throughout the years. Their lives are in danger since many of them served as trainers with international organizations, working alongside male trainers. I fear that the Taliban’s conservative ideology will not tolerate such activities.

I recently heard the Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, say that women can resume their professions as in the past and can continue in their public activities without fear. However, we know that while Taliban prioritize only certain female professions, such as teachers and nurses, we fear that women who worked for NGOs or the private sector will face reprisals.

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