Women’s rights activists in Afghanistan: “The work was not in vain”

For women’s rights activists, the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s victory is particularly threatening. Monika Hauser from medica mondiale describes in an interview how her association tries to get women out of Kabul – and what remains of their work.

tagesschau.de: Who are you currently in contact with in Afghanistan and what do you hear from the women?

Monika Hauser: We are very happy that our colleagues were able to flee from the locations in Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat to Kabul. But the situation in Kabul is worrying. We try to have our colleagues flown out and support them from the Cologne office of medica mondiale with everything that improves their situation.

tagesschau.de: Are you in contact with the Foreign Office and the German Embassy?

Houses: We are in contact with the Federal Foreign Office. They know who it is about, and we have now also recognized a political will to support us. The most important thing now is that enough planes arrive to get people out while the time window is still open.

But an internationally secured corridor is needed so that women can even get to the airport. The Taliban have occupied all the authorities and checkpoints in the city and we hear from women’s rights activists who have already been on the road and then turned back. The path is still far too dangerous.

Doubts about the “new” Taliban

tagesschau.de: The Taliban are currently trying to look moderate. Does that coincide with what you hear from your colleagues in the cities?

Houses: The old Taliban had a terror regime and were extremely misogynistic. We do not yet know what to make of the new promises. The new Taliban have certainly learned something new in terms of PR and can use social media. But we hear from our colleagues on site that they have had too terrible experiences to be able to believe a word they say. The Taliban say they will not harm anyone who lives according to Sharia law. But that is a matter of interpretation. And the old Taliban’s interpretation was deadly to women.

tagesschau.de: If the departure does not succeed now – what options do the women still have?

Houses: As human rights activists, we remain hopeful and strive to enable the women to leave the country. If that doesn’t work, women will decide which path is possible for them and their families. This may mean that they will try to leave at another point in time. Some will go underground. Those who have campaigned for women’s rights for 20 years are massively at risk.

“A powerful work for women built up in 20 years”

tagesschau.de: What remains of your work now?

Houses: We are now looking at the catastrophe that occurred in a short period of time. But over the past 20 years a very powerful women’s work has been built up at three locations in Afghanistan. The lawyers have criminally defended women who have experienced violence. They put husbands behind bars who almost beat their wives to death. You have brought thousands of women back to life through intensive psycho-social work. They were role models in civil society and have strengthened young women, but certainly also men. This social awareness work was not in vain and has not disappeared. I’m building on the younger generation who are used to dealing with social media, who were at university and who can hopefully stay there. I believe that this force will continue to exist and will not simply allow itself to be ousted by the Taliban.

tagesschau.de: But that also means: Was there enough reason for your work before the Taliban?

Houses: There were enough misogynist men in Afghan society even before the Taliban. Our colleagues have had to fight against so much resistance in order to give women their rights. There was so much fundamentalist thought in parliament and in government that our work has been painful and dangerous. And yet something has grown up that Germany may not have understood sufficiently. And that has also been jeopardized by a wrong policy.

What it should have been about

tagesschau.de: You mean a narrowing of the mission to the military?

Houses: We criticize the fact that the international community did not take sufficient account of a social peace process from the start and focused on military security and a peace that can be achieved militarily. Strengthening human rights, strengthening the rule of law, rebuilding the country together with the people – that should have been the point. Of course, there was archaic tribal thinking, especially in the countryside. But the women and the girls all knew what they were fighting for. You want to go to school. You don’t want to be forced into marriage when you are twelve. You want to lead a much more self-determined life with your own development. And many young men have understood that too.

To say now that the job is done, as US President Biden did, is perfidious. It takes generations to create awareness for this. We know that from our own history. Even in the 1960s, women could not take a job without their husbands’ signature. The law against rape in marriage was only introduced in Germany in 1997. We don’t need to arrogantly point to Afghanistan.

tagesschau.de: Is it correct that development aid for Afghanistan should be stopped for the time being?

Houses: That depends on the reason. When it comes to the fact that people have to fear for their lives because they have cooperated with foreign agencies, it is understandable that they now need protection and can flee. But there are areas of development cooperation that must go further. The people still need support. I am convinced that the Taliban need recognition and Western money. And that must be linked to conditions that have to do with human rights and, above all, women’s rights. But for that you have to negotiate with the Taliban. It’s difficult for women’s rights activists. So let’s wait and see how we can continue our work.