BTN News: Maryam’s voice pulls you into a harrowing reality where fear, anger, and despair have become constant companions. This young Afghan woman, just 22 years old, embodies the suffering and loss that countless women in Afghanistan have endured since the Taliban’s return to power on August 15, 2021. Once a medical student with dreams of healing others, Maryam now finds herself entombed in a life where her freedoms are systematically stripped away. She describes this existence as being buried alive, with no light, no hope, only the faint glimmer of a distant possibility to escape. Maryam’s story is one among millions, each a testament to the Taliban’s oppressive rule and the relentless erosion of women’s rights in Afghanistan. As the world watches in silence, these women endure an unthinkable reality, caught between survival and the faint hope of a better future.
In a country where women’s rights have been systematically dismantled, Maryam’s life has become a stark reflection of the grim reality for Afghan women today. She resides in Herat, a city in western Afghanistan, with her mother and two younger brothers. Once a student of Medicine, she was forced to abandon her studies in December 2022 when the Taliban banned women from attending university. This ban came after a previous decree that had already prohibited girls from attending secondary school. Now, no girl over the age of 12 is allowed to attend class in Afghanistan, a situation the United Nations describes as unique and deeply troubling.
Desperate to keep her mind active, Maryam scours the internet for online courses in Medicine and Literature. She spends her days at home, poring over old notes and textbooks, clinging to the hope that one day she might finish her studies in a place where women are free to learn. However, she knows that her only chance lies in leaving Afghanistan, a feat that seems almost impossible given the current circumstances.
The Taliban’s rule has seen the issuance of approximately 100 edicts that severely restrict women’s freedom of movement, limit their access to healthcare and education, and block them from the workforce. These measures have effectively erased Afghan women from public life, leading to severe consequences for their mental health and the financial stability of their families. The impact is far-reaching, creating an environment where despair and fear thrive, and hope seems a distant dream.
Despite these harsh realities, Maryam and other young women have found a lifeline in writing. In secret, they compose novels and poetry that capture the anguish and resilience of women living under Taliban rule. Initially, these women would meet in parks to share their work, but as the Taliban tightened its grip, such gatherings became too dangerous. They moved their meetings to hospital courtyards, only to be driven out once again. Now, they convene online, in a desperate bid to keep their voices alive in a world that seeks to silence them.
Books, especially those written by foreign authors, have become a source of solace and defiance for Maryam. She recently finished reading “Journey to the End of the Night” by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, translated into Persian. However, the simple act of carrying a book in public has become fraught with danger. On one occasion, a taxi driver, fearing a Taliban checkpoint, forced Maryam out of the vehicle in the middle of the street because she had a novel in her bag. The fear was palpable; without a male guardian, known as a mahram, her movements are severely restricted, and she is constantly at risk.
The United Nations has labeled the Taliban’s actions as gender apartheid, a term that signifies the systematic oppression and denial of basic rights solely based on gender. The UN has urged that these actions be recognized as crimes against humanity, with the hope that one day, those responsible will be held accountable.
Maryam’s circle of friends has dwindled over the years. Out of ten close friends, five have already left the country, two are preparing to leave, and only three, including Maryam, remain, searching for a way out. Maryam feels torn between her desire to leave and her responsibility to her mother and younger siblings. She especially worries about her younger sister, who, like Maryam, dreams of an education that seems increasingly out of reach.
The situation is similarly bleak for Faizah, a 35-year-old former prosecutor who recently fled to Pakistan. After the Taliban took power, Faizah spent three years confined to her home, her career and aspirations locked away, much like the dreams of thousands of educated Afghan women who have been reduced to mere shadows of their former selves. She faced harassment and threats because of her profession and her marriage to a Tajik man, which the Taliban views as unacceptable due to the couple’s different ethnic and religious backgrounds.
Faizah’s life in Kabul was marked by constant fear. She and her husband eventually fled to Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, but the Taliban’s persecution followed them. Faizah endured months of isolation, selling all her possessions, including her wedding ring, just to survive. She suffered two miscarriages, one of which occurred after a terrifying encounter with the Taliban. Her health deteriorated, and she eventually managed to secure a passport by claiming she needed medical treatment in Pakistan. Now, Faizah and her husband are in Islamabad, waiting for confirmation that they can move to Germany, the only country that has offered them asylum.
Mina, a 23-year-old who once studied Economics, now supports her family in Kabul by sewing. What began as a hobby has become a lifeline, though it is fraught with challenges. Her clients fear Taliban reprisals, and she can rarely meet them in person to take measurements or conduct fittings. Her younger sister, now 16, has fallen into a deep depression, questioning why her brother can attend school while she is confined to a life of domesticity. Mina has no answers, only shared sorrow and frustration.
The humanitarian crisis facing Afghan women is staggering. A recent report by the Afghan NGO Rawadari highlights the increasing deprivation of basic rights for women, alongside a rise in violence and harassment that victims cannot report for fear of retribution. Over 1.4 million girls are currently denied education, and underground schools for girls have been systematically shut down, with at least 28 teachers and students arrested. Women face arbitrary detention for something as simple as negotiating prices in a market or seeking medical care without a male guardian.
As the world remains largely silent, Afghan women like Maryam, Faizah, and Mina continue to endure unimaginable hardships. Their lives have been shattered, yet the international community appears indifferent, choosing to believe the Taliban’s false narrative of a safer Afghanistan. But the reality on the ground tells a different story, one of oppression, suffering, and a desperate struggle for basic human dignity.
In 2024, it is impossible to ignore the ongoing crimes and abuses committed by the Taliban. These women, their dreams crushed, continue to survive in a world that seems to have forgotten them. Maryam, Faizah, Mina, and countless others are victims of a cruel political game, their lives and futures sacrificed in the name of power. As Maryam herself poignantly asks, does the international community truly understand the horrors being inflicted on Afghan women, or are they simply choosing not to care? The silence is deafening, and for these women, the wait for justice and freedom continues, seemingly without end.
