What can we do?? Horrified by what is happening to women in Afghanistan and want to do something

[worried3456]

Can't believe how bad it's got and how little the world seems to care.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/26/taliban-bar-on-afghan-women-speaking-in-public-un-afghanistan

Women are now banned from speaking in public as well as doing anything else you could imagine that makes up a life - such as going outside or having a job or getting an education. Suicides are skyrocketing of course. How can we tolerate this? We don't have have a route for women from Afghanistan to apply for asylum here.

Does anyone have any tips of what we can do as ordinary people in the UK? which orgs are best to donate to?

I'm happy to debate this with you in the Middle East forum.

Sorry, I just think they are linked. I will donate to the charity linked, it seems like it does good work. Just worried about all the ME with Israel in the middle, who seem to be receiving extra hate right now x

Yeah, another one for keeping this about Afghanistan

People say its omg when other countries begin wars etc to change govt's so how can we change the political system ? other than a coup etc but then we got burned in the past eg with bay of pigs etc and other regime changes etc so like any other political system good or bad or depending on the system when viewed from our western point of view, how can change be achieved without causing chaos ?

I wish this. They don't deserve woman.

I was quite shocked to see Afghanistan playing in the most recent cricket World Cup and the commentary was all ‘plucky underdogs’ ignoring the situation in the country.

Apartheid South Africa was banned from sporting events. Could women cricketers front a campaign to stop ignoring this deadly apartheid against women and treating it as less important than male sport? Or even teen girls who play cricket here?

I think it begins with educating the Afghan men seeking refuge in the west about women's rights, education for women, healthcare, woman's right to vote & drive... The change needs to come from the Afghan men both in the west (who have the power to use their voices, advocate & fight for change) & those in Afghanistan.
There is nothing absolutely nothing the West can do unless Afghan men want & rally for change. The West is as powerless as the women.

I agree with everything you say.

@Razilla feel free to start a new thread about whatever topics you wish to discuss . This thread is about Afghanistan, it's a completely different country!

I assume so but given we are a small country with vast overcrowding and a housing/services crisis, should we really be offering asylum to any more people? Why can’t a less oppressive Islamic country offer an asylum programme?

Not wishing to stop this thread as it is all for a good cause but there has been another thread running for a few days under the title
Women are banned from talking in public

@cupcaske123 Cab you post sources for your claims please because everyone else is.

I admit I know very little about this, I need to educate myself. Can I ask have there been sanctions against Afghanistan for this breach of human rights? Did they compete at the Olympics or other international events? A quick Google search shows its part of UN and ratified various human rights treaties. I thought there are consequences for breaching this but clearly I'm wrong. What is the point in having these charters if they are no more than words?

Of course. If you start a thread in the Middle East forum I'll be happy to.

Blame all the cowardly young and fit Afghani Men who either ran away from their country, leaving their Mothers and Sisters to this hellscape, or kowtow to the regime instead of rising up to fight the Taliban.

SunnyWavess, you've summed it up beautifully. It suits the males to keep the women as slaves and not allow them any freedom. People talk about culture, but when it's based on misogyny and violence then it's just evil.

And why does the west keep accepting the males offering them sanctuary in full knowledge that the women are deserted & abandoned ? It's aiding and abetting this inhumane treatment of women.. And how do the Afghan males cope with us women who live free & liberal lives? Is our lifestyle here in the west prompting them to protest & demand human rights for women? No.
The Iranians & Ukrainians here in Europe are doing tremendous work to advocate & raise awareness about what is happening in their homelands. The millions of Afghan men here in Europe are doing nothing, until this changes & the men back in Afghanistan are empowered to demand change nothing will ever happen.

I remember watching a documentary about 10 years ago where the Germans were trying to educate men asylum seekers about women's rights. The men were just laughing and obviously didn't agree and had no intention of taking any notice. You can't just re educate people with a deeply ingrained culture. Western people are so naive.

I often think this. Get all the women and girls out and the the men die out.

I think I saw the same documentary. Many of the men were amused and paying lip service to the idea of women as beings with equal status. It was infuriating.

UN Women for you https://x.com/kimwillsher1/status/1829067994523181263

@Menopausalsourpuss

I agree a few classes at older teen /adult age is not going to change an ingrained life style plus back up or entwined sexist religion.

However lessons with a firm reminder or the law, may help.
You will be incarcerated, punished etc have passport revoked, citizenship revoked and so on.

If our government came out and said women are only allowed to speak in their own houses they'd be laughed at. Who would police it? The ghastly fact is that Afghan men are OK with this, and enough of them are willing to police it for it to actually be meaningful law.

I don't believe that half the country feel tyrannised by this, if they did they'd fight back. Afghan men are the only solution here and until they care nothing will change.

It's so annoying that they're just sitting on their hands!