“The Taliban Have Started Going House to House Looking for Women Activists”

Humira Saqib, a renowned journalist and defender of women’s human rights, denounced that the Taliban have begun to go house by house looking for women activists in Afghanistan. His statement contrasts with the calls for tranquility that the spokesmen of the radical Islamist group have given in recent hours.

According to the Spanish media The country, Saqib She clearly remembers the mistreatment that the Taliban inflicted on women in Afghanistan during their dictatorship between 1996 and 2001. She does not trust the statements and has chosen to hide.

“We activists are trapped here, we hide in the houses of friends or relatives and we cannot get out [a la calle] for the risk we run“Said Humira Saqib.

Femena, a support network for feminists in the Middle East and Asia, collected the signatures of 1,200 activists from Afghanistan and Iran requesting protection for civilians. In addition, it was requested that women be recognized as equal citizens with men.

Currently, there is a lot of fear among women about the measures that the Taliban may take from now on. The group’s spokesmen send mixed signals. First, they do not hide the objective of establishing a regime followed by Islamic law (sharia). And second, they maintain the ambiguity about women’s access to education or work.

“They say that we go to work and study, that we lead a normal life, but in Herat they do not let women and girls go to universities”Saqib pointed out. Several students have said that in recent days they were prevented from entering the university campus. In addition, there are testimonies of rejected employees in their jobs.

From his hiding place from Kabul, Saqib asked countries to “work to save the lives of activists, human rights defenders and journalists”. Finally, the woman said that “nor 20 years of progress are spoiled and people are given an international guarantee that it will protect their lives”.

Shahrzad Akbar, president of the Independent Human Rights Commission, indicated that “officials, government employees, ex-military personnel, journalists, women activists, human rights defenders, judges and prosecutors, people who have worked with foreign forces, all are afraid because despite being civilians, they have all been the target of attacks by the Taliban”. For this reason, he has asked the militia to, “Now that your forces have taken Kabul, take responsibility for the lives of the citizens”.