Afghan advocates urge action for women as Taliban marks five years since takeover

“Why (is it) we Afghan women should bear the burden of being resilient and fighting and looking for opportunities?”

The Taliban regained control over the Afghan capital on Aug. 15, 2021, prompting chaotic scenes of hordes of people clinging to foreign military jets in desperate attempts to escape.

Canadian troops spent 13 years in the country as part of a NATO stabilization mission. More than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces personnel were deployed to Afghanistan in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Many were based in Kandahar, a particularly volatile region where western forces sought to push out the Taliban.

Some 158 Canadian soldiers died during the mission, along with civilians such as journalist Michelle Lang. Others died at home by suicide and many suffered physical and psychological injuries.

Canadian troops and aid organizations sought to empower Afghan girls by opening schools and helping make space for women in sports, politics and media.

The Taliban retook the country after the United States and other NATO nations withdrew following two decades of war.

Though the Taliban pledged to allow women access to education and employment in line with its interpretation of Islamic principles, the regime immediately excluded women from virtually all facets of society.

The Taliban has banned girls from schooling beyond Grade 6 and barred them from a growing list of jobs. Afghan women and girls are also forbidden from entering parks, gyms and sports centres.

A ban on medical education has left a dwindling number of women who can examine and treat other women — in a country where strict cultural norms generally forbid men from performing those tasks.

Some 2.4 million girls are barred from education and Ziayee said many don’t even reach Grade 6 due to financial constraints.

The United Nations says global sanctions and natural disasters have led to economic calamity and critical levels of child malnutrition in some regions of the country. UNICEF says there has been a sharp increase in child marriage in Afghanistan.

In a statement, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said the restrictions on women and girls impede Afghanistan’s economic recovery and its reintegration into the international community. Only Russia formally recognizes the Taliban government.

But it noted that many Afghans now feel safer after decades of conflict, with the authorities cracking down on crime and terror attacks.

“A reduction in conflict has brought tangible benefits for many Afghans and created opportunities to focus on recovery, development and regional economic co-operation,” the UN mission said in a statement ahead of the anniversary.

UN Women, the lead United Nations agency on gender equality, said Afghan women and girls are living under the world’s most severe restrictions, and they’ve only worsened over the last year.

“Half a decade after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan has systematically dismantled the rights of half its population, making it a global outlier with no parallel in the modern world,” the agency said.

Ziayee’s charity is among those using the internet to provide virtual learning in Afghanistan. That includes virtual classrooms, self-directed learning modules, scholarships and online libraries.

In recent weeks, students taking part in virtual learning programs sponsored by Right to Learn have shared their reflections on five years of Taliban rule. One of them, Mahmoda, drew a picture of a woman in a blue burqa holding a book, with shackles on her hands.

“Even though there are many problems, girls still have dreams and hope,” she wrote. “I want people to remember that Afghan girls have not given up.”

Ziayee said Canadians continue to support Afghan girls. Ottawa, she said, has set the right tone by repeatedly urging the UN to engage with Afghanistan only if women’s voices are included.

“Canada has been a champion and we appreciate that,” she said.

“Canada has shown a really high level of solidarity from individuals … who stood alongside Afghan women for all these years through either advocacy, fundraising or providing technical support.”

But Ziayee said Canada can do more by offering university scholarships for Afghan girls and by taking action against the Taliban.

She said that until Afghan girls are free to attend schools, countries around the world should ban regime figures from travelling, freeze their assets and prevent their children from attending universities abroad.

Taliban leaders should be forced to attend negotiations by video call using the same method girls take to attend class, she argued.

Ziayee is among those advocating that countries formally accuse the Taliban of practising gender apartheid under a new legal designation that would impose sanctions on the regime. Others have warned that doing so could cause unintended harms, like further restrictions on aid.

Ziayee said she also hopes people remember Afghanistan after Saturday’s anniversary.

“As this news is fading away, Afghanistan and Afghan women will be disappeared from all the negotiations, discussions and spotlights,” she warned.

With files from The Associated Press