Women are banned from talking in public

[Washingupdone]

Women through new laws issued by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, are now banned on speaking in public as a woman's voice is considered "intimate" and should not be heard. I feel so sad and helpless for their situation. At least I am educated and in this situation would try to limit birth control without my husband being aware of my actions, if I could.
Does anyone know how they can be helped?

I don't know why the Afgani men who have fled the country haven't taken to the streets, perhaps they don't care, perhaps they've another reason, you'd have to ask them.

And I know I didn't ask you directly, I was restating my stance, which is "if you care about something enough, you should take action yourself and not wait for others to act on your behalf".

While I agree that Afghani people have to want change themselves for it to stick, I disagree that it is solely up to them to achieve it. I mean it is thanks to Western intervention these people are in the situation they are in.

From my understanding, Afghanistan was a relatively liberal and modern society under King Zahir Shah, who introduced a lot of social reforms during the 60s and early 70s. He was overthrown by his cousin, who was a bit more conservative but largely continued the same social policies. His cousin was then overthrown by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (a communist outfit).

The PDPA then tried to implement more radical social reforms, including land redistribution and, shock horror, women's rights, and they enforced them brutally, which led to tensions and eventually outright conflict with the conservative elements in Afghanistan. That, in turn, led to the Soviet Union intervening to support the PDPA.

If the PDPA and Soviets had won, who knows what society in Afghanistan would have looked like today but because
we in the West hated the Soviets with every ounce of our being, we adopted a stance of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and helped arm and train the club conservative elements in Afghanistan to fight them. With those same groups going on to form the various Islamic extremist groups we have today, including the Taliban.

The Taliban were then in a position to seized control and create their ultra-conservative state until we in the West decided the entire country needed a dose of 'freedom' because a Saudi terrorist was hiding in the mountains.

But instead of actually eradicating the Taliban we decided to placate them during our occupation and then, once we had finally gotten bored, actively handed the country back to them.

And here we are today.

Or maybe they aren't taking up weapons as they know that their families back home with be tortured and killed if they do so?

I don’t think anyone is surprised. We are unimpressed that these men have prioritised their own (lesser) discomfort above the genuine danger their female relatives are in, have left them behind to come here, and then simultaneously demand our sympathy and support while making no effort to respect our culture of equality.

I truely believe that if the millions of Afghan men joined forces with the help of translators, interpretors, NGOs & politicians they could make a huge difference & wake the world up who will join them in shouting for an end to the Taliban. Afghan men have NO excuses to leave Afghani women behind. They should be using their freedom & safety in Europe to lobby & advocate for women's rights in Afghanistan but they are not.
I will not make a difference but the Afghani men will. If the millions of Afghani's in Europe organise a protest & awareness campaign all of Europe will join in. People power but the Afghani men will need to want equality for women at home before changes will come.

But the Afghan men can use their voices here in Europe, especially poignant now that Afghan women are no longer allowed to speak outdoors.
They can write letters, post articles online..
As the old saying going the pen is mightier than the sword.

They won't use their voices or their pens. It's only women.

I think this is only possible because half the population are ready to do this and deny the other half all ability to speak or do much at all.

If the men felt the need to rise up a society would not continue in this way

Exactly. They don't necessarily disagree with the Taliban when it comes to women. Some of them actively want women to be subjugated, including the women of the countries they've sought asylum in. It's a waste of time asking those men to stand up for women.

It's not a waste of time asking the Islamic council and mosques to condemn this, though. That needs to happen and pressure brought to bear on the government to help.

Exactly the change needs to come from within. If millions of men are happy to abandon & desert women knowing that family reunification is impossible what hope is there realistically? Women can't leave their homes without a male chaperone, now they can't speak outdoors, how the hell are they going to cross a border to safety.
I'm sorry but the Afghani men are enabling this by fleeting to Europe & doing fuck all when they get here to scream for help for their female counterparts. It's not good enough.

@VOTENONOO

I agree with you - why are the Afghani men not speaking up & why are there no protests about this globally? It's very sad to hear about how women and young girls are being treated. So many pro Palestine marches yet this has barely made the news.

Yep, millions of Afghan men in Europe & there is so much they can do the raise awareness, shout from the rooftops, really make noise about what is happening women in their country. We know & accept these men are escaping Taliban rule but what about the girls & women. We need to demand a response from all the Afghani men in Europe.

Also if they agree with inequality for women, agree with sharia law Europe is the wrong place for them, we will never change our lifestyles for their comfort.. Imagine Afghan women now being told not to speak outside incase their voice tempts a man. How sick & depraved... Let's wait on the response from all the Afghani men seeking refuge in Europe. We need to demand more from them on behalf of all the Afghani women they abandoned & fled from.

Maybe the Afghani men don't have the money for the whole family to flee the country. It's possible that they have come here first to set up a base and earn enough money to bring the rest of the family over. This is probably pretty hard to do on minimum wage. Smugglers and transport isn't cheap, especially if you don't have passports or would be turned away at crossings between countries.

If you were making that decision, and you valued everyone equally, would you help the people being kept virtually imprisoned and denied education and employment to freedom, or would you think, nah, fuck that, I’ll go and they’ll probably be ok?

Donation given. Thank you for posting.

I just hope they are able to help more women out out their terrible situation.

But how will they bring the rest of the family over if women in Afghanistan are hardly allowed to leave the house by themselves?

Even if they had the money Afghani women are not allowed cross the border. How would they even get to the border? They can't leave their homes without a male chaperone.. They can't even speak outside to ask directions..
However while the Afghani men are here in the safety of the west I cannot understand why they are not screaming & demanding an end to Taliban rule & freedom for Afghani women. There are millions of Afghan men in Europe & they are doing fuck all.

I cannot understand why they are not screaming & demanding an end to Taliban rule & freedom for women. There are millions of Afghan men in Europe & they are doing fuck all.

They don't believe in Western values which includes women's rights. Sexual assault in Germany went up after 2015.

And the problem is they are not being challenged when is Europe. Why aren't they questioned where are your female family? Where are the women from your village? What are your views on equality, homosexuality, women's rights? Why can Western women have them & Afghani women not.
The governments in Europe are enabling this treatment of women by allowing Afghan men into European countries in the full knowledge of how women are being literally eradicated with no rights whatsoever... Not even allowed speak outside in the open air now..

Exactly. They don't care about women's rights. They're coming to the West for a better life and they'll say whatever they need to say to get here. They are mostly poor young males who see a chance to escape poverty. Once here they are not interested in changing things back home. They got out with their mates and that's it. They miss their mums until they find a woman to serve them. They aren't going to be leading any protests, regardless of whether they have a moral duty or not. They don't care.

The million dollar question is are these males intending to & actively integrating?
Do they accept women's right to equality here? Are they prepared to take orders from women?
Or are they expecting Europe to change for them & become an extension of where they are fleeing from (referring to the Hamburg protest lobbying for a caliphate & sharia law in Germany..)

I 100% agree. I feel so utterly o we privileged being born here, with a safe roof over my head and an averagely ok life.

Attempts have been made to introduce greater freedom to Afghanistan, and they failed abysmally. The Afghan National Army disintegrated in the face of the Taliban, and with them any possibility of a somewhat modern lifestyle for women. The Taliban are firmly in control now, and it will take a massive effort to dislodge them. Who has the energy or resources to go through that again?

Afghan men in Europe may have sympathy with the plight of women there, but they don't want them to adopt Western ways or values. Many are shocked when they arrive here and witness the haram behaviour of men and particularly women. I have deep misgivings on how they will adapt to European life.

It's sad, but it's their culture. We have little choice other than to let them get on with it.

It's sad, but it's their culture. We have little choice other than to let them get on with it.

This was used for years in the UK regarding FGM, so called honour based abuse and forced marriage. The police and other services saw them as cultural practices we shouldn't interfere with.

These women and girls are human beings and they have a right to self determination. They are being treated as less than animals and no one, not even someone from another culture, deserves that.

It's sad, but it's their culture. We have little choice other than to let them get on with it.

Bollocks. That's just an excuse for not caring because they're foreign.