November is the month of giving thanks. Many of us do this on Thanksgiving, while sitting around a table and sharing a meal with our loved ones. This year while you are giving thanks, I would like to remind everyone, including myself, to give thanks for all the liberties women in the United States enjoy, many of which mothers, daughters, sisters and wives in Afghanistan will not enjoy going forward, due to the return of the Taliban rule.
- I am grateful that I am allowed to work any type of job I would like. In mid-September, the acting mayor of Kabul announced that all female employees in Kabul city government should stay home. Only female workers whose jobs could not be performed by men would be allowed to come to work.
- I am grateful for seeing female newscasters on television. In mid-August, the Taliban took two female newscasters off air. Only male anchors were allowed into the station.
- I am grateful that journalists (female and male) are not barred from doing their jobs. More than once, journalists have been severely beaten by the Taliban.
- I am grateful for education being valued and available for both girls and boys throughout the entire country. While schools in Kabul, Afghanistan have reopened for boys, there is no indication of the same for girls’ schools. And, although some schools in northern Afghanistan have recently opened for girls, parents are fearful of letting their daughters attend with the Taliban soldiers lining their streets.
- I am grateful that our universities have both female and male teachers, and there is no restriction on who can teach who.
- I am grateful that women in the U.S. who are abused have the option to go to a shelter for support and help in getting out of the abusive situation. As the Taliban returned to Kabul, a 2009 law, the Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women was canceled, and many women’s shelters shuttered their windows or went underground for fear of retaliation. In the prior Taliban regime, women’s shelters were referred to as brothels.
- I am grateful that we live in a country where we are allowed to express ourselves through events like the Women’s March. In Afghanistan, women demonstrating for their rights have been met with violence by the Taliban.
- I am grateful that women are able to participate in any sport they wish. The Taliban have stated that Afghani women will not play sports because “it is not necessary” for them to do so.
- I am grateful that we live in a country where women have access to hospitals and medicines and general healthcare, and we can obtain this support without being accompanied by a man to a hospital or needing to wait for a female healthcare provider.
- I am grateful that as a woman, I live in a country where I do not have to be accompanied by a male relative to leave the house, and my daily attire is not dictated by anyone but me. The Taliban have reinstated the office for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice which, among other things, monitors women’s clothing, ensures men wear a beard of a certain length, and women do not leave the house without being accompanied by a male relative.
- I am grateful that we live in a country where we can elect female judges and they do not live in fear of retribution from the men they have jailed. Across Afghanistan, nearly 200 female judges have gone into hiding as the Taliban does not recognize the authority of female judges, and all prior criminals have been released from prison. Upon their release, many reached out to the judges who sentenced them with death threats.
- I am grateful that I live in a country where there is no official manual or handbook on how men should treat women, any LGBT people, “infidels”, or people committing “vice”.
While I am grateful for living what feels like a life of luxurious freedom, I am deeply troubled and saddened by the dangers surrounding the women in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
If you also feel the same way, here are some ways we can help the women still living in Afghanistan.
You can help them get out by donating your miles.
You can support Madre.org, an organization that is working on preventing assassination of women and girls.
You can also support the refugees resettling in our communities.
This organization used to help women escape abuse from husbands and other family members. Unfortunately, since the Taliban have taken over, they have decided to suspend their services, for the safety of the existing clients and their staff. Let’s hope that with enough support they will eventually return to offering services and support to the Afghan women.