AIBU to ask how to help women and girls in Afghanistan

[Aplone]

... Following the takeover of the Taliban? Are there any practical steps which we in the UK can take to help women and girls who will now undoubtedly lose rights and freedoms under this new regime. I feel so helpless watching these events unfolding, and really want to be able to do something. Are there any reputable organisations* to donate to? Any other actions we can take (petitions etc. although please no links as they are not allowed!!)? Thank you very much.

*not Oxfam! After the way they behaved in Haiti I don't trust them one iota!

(Inb4 - "what about the menz?" I want to help women and girls and "what about our homeless veterans?" I want to help our homeless veterans too, infact it is an issue very close to my heart but I have some idea of what charities etc. offer support and you can support more than one cause!)

I support this charity which helps women survivors of war to rebuild their lives

womenforwomen.org.uk/

I’m so sad for all the women and girls in Afghanistan

Johnson: “I am sure they will be aware that there is no military path to victory for the Taliban”

I really wish to god there was something I could do. But any Guardian appeal or Amnesty campaign can go fuck themselves, given the misogyny and the the damage to female human rights they've actively promoted in so many of their articles and activities of late. I'm done with the hypocrisy now.

I will look into those refugee charities, thank you.

How could Raab fuck off on holiday knowing what was going to happen? Unbelievable.

www.street-child.co.uk/afghanistan

This is a charity you might like to support - also active in countries other than Afghanistan

I asked this the other day and someone recommended the Linda norgrove foundation. They look amazing but whether they can continue their work is up for debate. I’d imagine they will adapt their help somehow.

@lannistunut

Johnson: “I am sure they will be aware that there is no military path to victory for the Taliban”

Is this the same Johnson who said "There are no reporters here" in front of a roomful of reporters ? Or the same Johnson who said there would be no border in the Irish sea ?

Anyone who believe a word he says is not only dim, but needs to buy a bridge I have for sale.

@meditrina

We can write to MPs before Wednesday asking them to support free passage for Afghani people- particularly women and children

What do you mean by 'free passage'?

Wouldn't it be better to give a quota of visas to residents in the existing camps?

Because the only routes out now are by foot, so that is where those who succeed in exiting the country will end up.

Existing camps are unfortunately already no go areas for aid agencies and are under Taliban control. The only people going in were the Iranian Red Cross providing some support. Even children haven’t escaped Taliban guns in the camps near the borders.

The only way out now is via military flights or risking on foot border crossings through inhospitable terrain guarded by Taliban factions.

It would be good if people from camps could be brought to safety, but that’s too great a risk. They are stuck, tragically.

I mean anyone who can leave should be accepted as refugees and given asylum. I don’t think now is the time to worry about processing visas or determining quotas. The idea of quotas is fairly abhorrent in these circumstances.

One would hope neighbouring nations would open their borders, but that’s less likely. Perhaps if the G7 shared some wealth, neighbouring countries might be more open to assisting those in need.

How could Raab fuck off on holiday knowing what was going to happen? None of this government even bothers pretending to care about their roles or their responsibilities. Rory Stewart is pretty damning today (and knows more about it than the entire Cabinet one assumes) twitter.com/RoryStewartUK

Who'd be a soldier, eh ?

@DGRossetti

Who'd be a soldier, eh ?

Or the mothers of soldiers, or a soldier son whose fiancé is at Kabul airport.

@LadyTiredWinterBottom2

It's not really up to the civilians imho. Whoever has the people power and the weapons wins. Person in the street isn't in a position to take up arms and clearly the Afghan army aren't putting up a lot of resistance.

We could say 'well they must want to be ruled by Taliban' but l don't think that the case. More like they don't think they will be successful in defe dj g themselves so better to roll.over than fight and have their families see them hung in the streets when they do lose.

No it should never be up to thr people. But you need to remember they have a massive military trained and weaponised with western money and people.

The issue here is the Afghan military have not provided resistance, and from what I can see due to the scale of their own military, western forces at least expected them to provide some resistance not the Taliban being in control within a week and before anyone was even evacuated.

Johnson was saying there is no route for the west for victory here. I think that people have taken his quote out of context. It was in relation to the west continuing to occupy.

People need to remember Afghan has a military, a large capable one. That militrary was trained to fight off the Taliban and keep hold of the country, the reason this has occured is not simoly as the west pulled out. But that military provided little to no resistance.

Thanks for the link to those women’s charities.

I read this three weeks ago www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/peterborough-council-rehome-risk-afghan-21127601

So we had a plan to get people out and house them. I just hope we managed to get them out in time.

Please look at Nowzad charity. It’s set up to help vets and street animals in Afghanistan and how they’re hoping to get help and get out.

No. At least at this point in time I really don’t think there is.

I've just seen the reports on the morning news. The image of all those men fighting and scrabbling to get on the flights out.
I was thinking about the women and children unable to get away.
Thanks for the charity links, everyone.

So important to channel our rage and fear.
I’ve written to my MP to thank her for speaking out about the students.
Donated to Rory’s charity upthread.
Signed and shared the petition about the students.
Asked a friend who’s ‘worked with the Taliban’ what to do and he said UNICEF.

@Maireas

I've just seen the reports on the morning news. The image of all those men fighting and scrabbling to get on the flights out. I was thinking about the women and children unable to get away. Thanks for the charity links, everyone.

Yes, the photo I saw was of a huge sea of adult men battling their way into planes that then wouldn't be able to take off because of capacity and safety issues.

No women and children in sight, unless they were standing in the queue in the boarding bridge that was being rushed.

I know people are panicking and it's bloody horrific but these evacuations could be better policed.

I also want to know is to help the women and girls, both those who do and don't get out.

Yes, @SpindleWhorl, and it was directly after images of them whitewashing the outside of beauty salons which had pictures of women on them.
What a metaphor. Just whitewashing women out.

I don’t believe Taliban will allow charities to operate 😪

@Bluntness100
No it should never be up to thr people. But you need to remember they have a massive military trained and weaponised with western money and people

As i understand, there is no Afghan airforce or a command and control structure, the west provided this, so no command, no supply chains or air support, so no matter the training or weapons, without the backroom stuff the Afghans had zero chance, they have also lost 66000 soldiers fighting the Taliban, so they have been able to fight, with support - which they had removed, very quickly.

As to charities and support, we 'd need to look at the camps outside of Afghan and allow refugee status to those who make it to europe/provide visa's to those who have family here.

The best action you could take would be to campaign for more military funding and intervention in countries that don't have the level of rights that you think is acceptable. You could also campaign against the stricter forms of Islam (and other religions that restrict rights).

Trouble is, try doing either and you'll be called a war-mongering imperialist racist. The alternative is to accept that other countries and people of different religious beliefs are entitled to have different values and standards to us.

As Afghanistan shows, a temporary occupation and installation of a western-supported government won't create a permanent solution. The allied intervention would have needed to have lasted for at least a hundred years to have had a chance, and the Taliban would need to have been eradicated entirely.

[quote jasjas1973]@Bluntness100
No it should never be up to thr people. But you need to remember they have a massive military trained and weaponised with western money and people

As i understand, there is no Afghan airforce or a command and control structure, the west provided this, so no command, no supply chains or air support, so no matter the training or weapons, without the backroom stuff the Afghans had zero chance, they have also lost 66000 soldiers fighting the Taliban, so they have been able to fight, with support - which they had removed, very quickly.

As to charities and support, we 'd need to look at the camps outside of Afghan and allow refugee status to those who make it to europe/provide visa's to those who have family here.[/quote]
I’m sorry but it’s wrong. There is an Afghan airforce aith nearly seven thousand personnel ans nearly two hundred planes, some of then very high tech, all provided by the west. There is a full command and control structure in place.

I’m sorry but it’s wrong. There is an Afghan airforce aith nearly seven thousand personnel ans nearly two hundred planes, some of then very high tech, all provided by the west. There is a full command and control structure in place

Ok That isn't what many experts/politicians have said but thanks for info.
Which if your correct, is rather worrying because thats now a Taliban airforce, command/supply structure.

This is a list of what happened to Afghan leaders in the past century:

• King Habibullah (1901 to 1919) (assassinated)
• King Amanullah (1919 to 1929) deposed (exiled)
• Habibullah Kalakani (1929) deposed (killed)
• King Nader(1929 to 1933) assassinated
• King Zahir (1933 to 1973) deposed (exiled)
• Mohammad Dauod Khan (1973 to 1978) (killed)
• Taraki (1978 to 1979) (killed)
• Amin (1979) (killed)
• Karmal (1979 to 1986) (deposed)
• Najibullah Admedzai (1986 to 1992) (deposed) (hanged by the Taliban)
• Rabbani (1992 to 2001) (killed by the Taliban)
• Karzai (2001 to 2014) (brother & father killed)
• Ghani (2014 to 2021) (deposed)

What the West did not understand about Afghanistan was that the traditional western divide of authoritanism Vs democracy do not transpose well in every country. Afghan politics is based on tribal loyalties i.e. if the Taliban orchestrate a deal with your warlord who shares the same tribe as you, you don't fight against the Taliban. This is exacerbated by the fact the army never got paid their salaries due to corruption. Ultimately though, there are 14 different ethnicities in Afghanistan and it is this way due to the British empire drawing up boundaries so that Afghanistan could be a buffer state to protect India.

It is very sad but I don't see an end to the suffering in Afghanistan. We should have handled it better 20 years ago.

@vagmons

Also, please write to your MP regarding the refusal to issue visas to 35 Afghan chevening scholars - half women. Their lives are now at risk following this inhumane decision. Parliament is being recalled Wednesday.

They've already said they will now honour them.

But thats meaningless if those people can not get out of Afghanistan anyway. Its already being said that its too dangerous for women to travel at all. Female afghan journalists have already disappeared. If you look at the pictures of the airport, where are the women?

The US has said it will take several days for them just to get their own people out.

The idea of sending money is very nice but the reality is there will be no one in Afghanistan on the ground to help. Women in Afghanistan are now beyond Western help.

Even saying that is awful but a reality which really needs saying. Purely for the sheer horror of doing so.