Afghan women banned from parks

[ArabellaScott]

It's always depressing starting these threads, because there seems to be little to nothing that anyone in the UK can do about the situation.

But in the spirit of bearing witness:

'Women are banned from visiting parks in Kabul by the hardline ruling Taliban.
... Women were also recently barred from swimming pools and gyms in the capital.'

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-63756621

One heartening note is this women's library:

'Activist Laila Basim has co-founded a library for women. It has thousands of books in different languages on diverse subjects.

"With this we want to show the Taliban that Afghan women won't stay silent and our second goal is to expand the culture of reading books among women, particularly those girls who are deprived of education," she says.'

More on the women's library:

switzerlandtimes.ch/world/afghan-women-open-library-in-kabul/

This might be a good enough reason to voice support:

'"The world has turned its back on us," Laila Basim says. "Powerful people all over the world are supporting the women of Iran, but not those of Afghanistan.

"What happens to us doesn't even make front page news. We feel broken and forgotten."'

Not forgotten, Laila Basim.

Those poor women.

No not forgotten, but as an individual I feel powerless to do much but bear witness to their plight and hope for a better future for the women. Do

For the men that go along with or impose these rules I hope for things that would get me banned if I wrote them here.

Boiled x

Not forgotten

Not forgotten

Not forgotten, sisters

Does anyone know how we can support this by donating books or money? What languages would be preferred?

Answered my own question. It’s being supported by the Crystal Bahat foundation: www.crystalbayat.org.

Thanks, ghislaine, I had a look but couldn't find any direct links.

But in the spirit of bearing witness

I like that phrase, OP. Makes me understand why I open threads that make me feel helpless. Bearing witness indeed.

Thank you.

Hideous oppression

It's a desperate situation. Supporting the library is a good idea but I fear that the Taliban will not even allow this to continue once they understand how valuable and precious it is to the women of Iran. I'm assuming there is no internet access for these women? How isolated they must feel from each other and from the outside world.

Bearing witness here.

I heard the article on R4 this morning. It's heartbreaking.

Thank you for the link ghislaine

Sorry I meant Afghanistan not Iran.

Thanks for the information and another one here really appreciating the idea of bearing witness to the awfulness. 💐

I couldn't find a way to donate at the Crystal Bahat foundation link above. I'll keep an eye out for other organisations that might be helping.

There's Linda Norgrove, and Women Helping Women, both of whom work in Afghanistan, I think. But I'm not sure how NGOs etc are actually able to operate given the practicalities and yes, I guess much of this might have to be done in secret and without internet access.

Sorry, that's

womenforafghanwomen.org/

Mostly seems to be helping refugees in the US, at the moment. And there are orgs doing humanitarian emergency work too, of course.

Thank you OP.

LNF currently sponsoring Afghan women through education: lindanorgrovefoundation.org/

Just awful

Thank you for sharing.

Bearing witness. It’s heartbreaking.

Thank you for sharing

not forgotten 💐

Not forgotten, never. I think about the situation in Afghanistan almost every day. It's hard to have any impact from outside, however. I have written to politicians and I also try to donate to organisations which directly help women and girls. But perhaps something more could be done by ordinary people? Any ideas?