The Pen Is Mightier Than The...: Afghan Women Use
The Pen Is Mightier Than The...: Afghan Women Use "Weapons" to Flout Taliban
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A group of Afghan women enter a modest Kabul apartment building one by one, quickly, carefully, and with their heads bowed, risking their lives as a nascent resistance against the Taliban.

They gather to plot their next move against the hardline Islamist dictatorship that retook power in Afghanistan in August, robbing them of their hopes.

There were just about 15 activists in this group at initially, largely women in their twenties who already knew each other.

Over the last six months, a network of dozens of women—once students, teachers, or NGO workers, as well as housewives—has worked in secret to organise protests.

They realise that taking on the new authority could cost them everything.

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Four of their colleagues were detained for weeks before being released by the UN on Sunday.

Between 1996 and 2001, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, they were known for human rights violations, with women being confined to their houses for the most part.

Now that they’re back in power, they’re pushing down on women’s rights once more, despite promising a softer approach.

Most companies have enforced segregation, which has led to many firms firing female employees, and women are excluded from crucial government positions.

Many secondary schools for girls were shuttered, and university curricula have been changed to match their conservative view of Islam.

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Some Afghan women are too afraid to venture out or are persuaded by their families to stay at home, haunted by memories of the previous Taliban regime.

Shala, a mother of four who requested that AFP only use her first name, is most concerned about a return to such female imprisonment.

Despite the risk of being abducted by the Taliban or being rejected by their families and society, over 40 women attended a single gathering.

A group of women zealously planned their next protest at another meeting.

With her phone in one hand and her pen in the other, one activist created a banner demanding justice.

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A 24-year-old man, who did not want to be identified, assisted in the brainstorming of ideas for capturing the attention of the globe.

“It’s risky, but there’s nothing else we can do. We must face the fact that our journey will be difficult “She persists in her position.

She defied her strict relatives, including an uncle who threw away her books in order to prevent her from learning.

She argues, “I don’t want to let fear control me and prohibit me from speaking and revealing the truth.”

It takes a lot of time and effort to allow people to join their ranks.

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Hoda Khamosh, a published poet and former NGO worker who organised seminars to help women gain empowerment, is in charge of verifying that newcomers can be trusted.

Other tests provide much more detailed information.

Hoda recalls giving a potential activist a fictitious demonstration date and time.

The Taliban arrived ahead of the ostensibly peaceful protest, and all communication with the woman suspected of informing officials was cut off.

Her phone number has been changed multiple times, and her husband has been threatened.

“It’s exhausting that we may still be harmed. But there’s nothing we can do but keep trying “adds her.

Last month, when the West and Afghanistan’s new government held their first discussions on European soil, the activist was one of a handful women flown to Norway to meet face to face with the Taliban’s leadership, along with other members of civil society.

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Dissent is being cracked down on.

In the 20 years since the Taliban took power, a generation of women, mostly in larger cities, became business entrepreneurs, pursued PHDs, and served in government roles.

Defiance is required in order to defend such victories.

On protest days, women arrive in groups of two or three, waiting outside stores as if they were regular customers, then rushing together at the last minute: about 20 people chanting as their banners are unfurled.

Taliban gunmen deployed pepper spray on resistance demonstrators for the first time a few days after the planning meeting, enraged that the group had painted a white burqa red to refuse wearing the all-covering outfit.

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Tamana shouts in the video: “Please assist! Taliban have arrived in our Parwan 2 residence. My sisters are all at home with me.”

From the beginning,

Women are swiftly adapting to their new surroundings.

Demonstrations would stop as soon as one of the participants was pushed or threatened by the Taliban when they first started the movement last September.

According to Hoda, they’ve devised a method in which two activists look after the victim while the others — and the protest — go on.

Because the Taliban forbids protestors from being covered by the media, many female activists use their phones to shoot images and videos to share on social media.

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Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban leadership, disputed that any women were being imprisoned, but claimed that police had the right “to arrest and hold dissidents or those who breach the law” as the government outlawed unofficial protests shortly after taking control.

Starting from the ground up

Women are quickly adapting.

Demonstrations would halt as soon as one of the participants was pushed or intimidated by the Taliban when they first started the movement in September.

Hoda claims they’ve now devised a system in which two activists look after the victim while the others — and the protest — go on.

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Barr believes that anyone engaging in this new opposition will “very certainly” suffer harm.

A smaller women’s group is currently attempting to focus on peaceful protests rather than open confrontation with the Taliban.

“When I’m out on the streets, my heart and body tremble,” Wahida Amiri explained.

Previously, the 33-year-old worked as a librarian. She is sharp and outspoken, and she is no stranger to battling for justice, having previously campaigned against corruption during the previous administration.

They use audio apps like Clubhouse and Twitter to write articles and participate in debates in the hopes that social media would help them tell their narrative to the rest of the world.

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She claims, “I’ve never worked as hard as I have in the last five months.”

Hoda’s greatest ambition was to become President of Afghanistan, and she is finding it difficult to accept that her political activities are now curtailed.

We will be trapped at home, between four walls, if our rights are not secured. “This is something we can’t stand,” she stated emphatically.

Kabul is not alone in its fight. Other Afghan cities, including Bamiyan, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif, have seen small, dispersed rallies by women.

“(The Taliban) have obliterated us from society and politics,” adds Amiri.

“We might not be able to succeed. We only want to keep raising the voice of justice, and instead of five women, we want thousands to join us.”

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