Afghan women protest to support girls' rights

[PrimAndProperViperish]

So brave. The women protested, despite the dangers:

'Though we're afraid we came out to advocate for the rights of girls, so that at least the Taliban will open schools for them.'

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-62532839

I think it's practically a very difficult area to be in (I mean geographically).

NGOs and charities will be finding it hard to work in Afghanistan at the moment.

Plus, to be honest, I think the west is (justifiably) ashamed of the fucking mess it left behind.

@PrimAndProperViperish i think the west for lucky thst it was Covid to be frank.

everyone was looking the other way.

I am disappointed though that some of the feminists that I really look up to who are so active in other areas just don’t seem to be focussing on this. And in the uk in particular not at least trying to hold the government accountable and not trying to get it at least some sort of profile

NitroNine - Today 08:20
When your claim might not be considered
Your claim might not be considered if you:
• are from an EU country
• travelled to the UK through a ‘safe third country’
• have a connection to a safe third country where you could claim asylum

Is there a way to travel to the U.K that is ^not* through a safe third country (if you don’t fly direct on a plane)?

Those men deserve for every single woman and girl to disappear.

Searching for knowledge is compulsory for every Muslim male and Muslim female.
– Hadith of Prophet Mohammed (Pbuh)
Recorded in Hadith Collection Ibn Majah

^Read. Read in the name of thy Lord who created; [He] created the human being from blood clot.
Read in the name of thy Lord who taught by the pen: [He] taught the human being what he did not know.” (Q96: 1-5)^

A basic principle of Shariah states that when a commandment is revealed, even if the masculine form of a word is used, the female gender is also included in this commandment. If this principle is rejected, then the basic pillars of Islam such as prayer, fasting, pilgrimage and alms-due become null and void for women. Though God Almighty and the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) use the masculine form to describe most of the commandments, women also are bound to act and follow those rules and regulations.

The obligation for women and men to study is also confirmed by the hadith and the sunnah[2]. Preventing women and girls from receiving education is preventing them from fulfilling the divine obligation commanded by Allah and intervening with their akhirah, or afterlife.

onwardforafghanwomen.org/policy/girls-education-and-islam-a-divine-command-with-historical-precedent/

It makes me so sad and angry. But life gets in the way.

I remember around the time of the West’s withdrawal a woman saying that their window on to a future had been slammed shut.

My heart hurts for all those women.

@UrsulaPandress biden and Johnson et al should hang their heads in shame for this. But it seems to me that this is just going to be a minor unfortunate footnote that doesn’t even really feature when their legacy is assessed

and i really do understand and support the real threat thst womens rights uk the uk and other western democracies are under because of trans rights. But I still do think that debate is being allowed to overshadow and detract from other issues like this.

Yes. Feminists are being forced to spend their precious, valuable time fighting the absurd notion that the category of 'women' can include males. It's infuriating.

If we lose the ability to name women as a category, we lose the ability to fight for women's rights, full stop.

Thank you for posting about the Linda Norgrove Foundation. Donated.

I found out about the Fistula Foundation through posters here and started to donate and read up on the work they do. Their last update on Afghanistan was 1 year ago so I wonder if they have been shut down.

I don't know of any other way to help women there, those protesting are incredibly brave.

fistulafoundation.org/news/country/afghanistan/

These women are incredibly brave.

This from an (excellent) Independent article by Zehra Zaidi is depressing.

“Many Afghan women face a direct, violent threat to their lives from the Taliban because of the jobs they once did, with the support and encouragement of the UK. Yet the UK Foreign Select Committee report on Afghanistan found that of 15,000 people evacuated in Operation Pitting by the British government, only 295 principals were from civilian “vulnerable groups”. Whilst there is no gender breakdown provided for these figures, only 11 were women’s rights activists.”

“The least we can do is fight as hard for them as they are now fighting for themselves. British citizens can mobilise to make their voices heard to help to save and protect lives. That is what is at stake. We urgently need a specific legal route for Afghan women at risk.”

www.independent.co.uk/voices/afghanistan-1-year-on-taliban-womens-rights-b2145152.html

It is so hard as an individual to feel you are doing anything useful, but it always helps to contact your MP, use stats like the ones from the article above, and make them know that you’re expecting the new Prime Minister have this as one of their immigration priorities. If your MP is opposition or other, it’s still important as all sides need to know this is something important for their constituents.

Earlier this year, 1 in 4 people crossing the channel in small boats were from Afghanistan, and included those promised a safe haven by the UK government, but have been stranded in Afghanistan since the withdrawal as the resettlement scheme has stalled. The government are leaving women and children in danger. We need to speak up for them.

Thanks, Beware. Good points.

If anyone has any contacts in Afghanistan, The Linda Norgrove Foundation are offering scholarships for women medical students at Kabul University:

knu.edu.af/language/en/category/news-and-events/

(top news item)

An article here on UNFPA about midwives in Afghanistan.

www.unfpa.org/news/midwives-afghanistan-defy-constraints-and-crises-save-lives-women-and-newborns

Interestingly in the past, Afghan girls in a family where there were no boys, could get accepted as a boy, take part in education, and were allowed more freedom, which stopped of course at puberty . Many of those girls became the older women fighting back having had the opportunity to study and see the world from a male angle. I wonder if women will do this again for their girls,

on top of everything else Afghanistan is now dealing with large areas of the country is flooded

This isn't the fault of TRA's, though. It's the fault of the US and UK, who invaded the country over twenty years ago. Women and girls were written off by the west long before trans legislation was passed or gender reassignment clinics for children were opened.

You can't deflect to trans issues all the time.

I'd say because the Taliban was created by USA mainly and the situation is part of the UK/ USA /Western power play in the region. If you want a really simplified and easy access to the history, watch Charlie Wilson's War on Netflix with Tom Hanks, it's a dramatisation (and of course mad simplification) of how and why the taliban were created.

yes

Afghan women and girls need an underground railroad.

RAWA, which stands for the Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan, is worth following on Facebook.
Incredibly brave women.