By THALIA BEATY
Fawzia Koofi, one of the Afghanistan's once-prominent female leaders — a former parliament member, candidate for president and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize -- speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, in New York. Koofi called for humanitarian aid sent to Afghanistan to be contingent on the participation of women in its distribution, as well as free and safe travel for Afghans into and out of the country. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
NEW YORK (AP) — Two months after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, one of the country’s once-prominent female leaders — a former parliament member, candidate for president and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize — is visiting the United Nations, not as a representative of her government but as a woman in exile.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Fawzia Koofi called for humanitarian aid sent to Afghanistan to be contingent on the participation of women in its distribution, as well as free and safe travel for Afghans into and out of the country.
Aid “should not be politicized. ... Women should be involved in every stage of it and they should be listened to. Women should not be only the recipients,” said Koofi, part of a delegation of Afghan women visiting the U.N. to urge member states not to compromise on inclusion and equal rights in Afghanistan.
Since fleeing Kabul in August, Koofi has been living in hotel rooms in Europe. She described the pain of separation from her country, of two decades of hopes dashed and of searching for permanent residence for herself and her two daughters.
“This is not an Afghanistan I fought for,” she told the AP. “The Afghanistan that I was hoping for was (that) women should not suffer as much as I suffered during my childhood, during the time that I was a teenager, when (the) Taliban took over.”
“I wanted other girls to enjoy at least the freedom of choosing which school they should go. But now, their choice is limited to which room in their houses they should spend during the day. This is heartbreaking.”
Koofi, a former deputy speaker of parliament, was one of only four women in talks to reach a power-sharing deal with the Taliban, which ultimately failed. She described watching the Taliban’s commitment to negotiations change after they signed a peace agreement with the United States in February 2020.
“After they signed the agreement, they were more extreme and they were more into buying time, preferring a military strategy,” she said.
Taliban fighters pursued that strategy in the summer, seizing province after province until they reached Kabul in August. When then-President Ashraf Ghani fled, the Taliban entered the capital, sparking panic among many who had opposed their rule and feared for their lives and futures.
That was the fatal blow to reaching a political settlement many had hoped would cement the gains women had achieved in access to education, work and the legal system, Koofi said.
She also blamed “world leaders,” seeming to point a finger at U.S. President Joe Biden. “As a superpower, the United States has a major responsibility and should be held accountable,” she said.
When he announced withdrawal plans, Biden said he was bound by the timetable set by the Trump administration and that the U.S. could not continue to extend the military presence in Afghanistan and expect a different result.
Still, Koofi said she thinks the breakdown of peace talks and the Taliban takeover could have been avoided. Pausing as tears ran down her face, she said: “I mean, every day we are actually dealing with this trauma.”
Her former female colleagues in parliament, female judges who used to sentence people affiliated with the Taliban and some journalists who spoke out against the group are now fearful, she said.
The Taliban must also be held accountable, she added, for their pledges that women would be able to go to school and work “within the principles of Islam.”
Each day, Koofi said she gets hundreds of text and voice messages largely from women still in Afghanistan, hoping she can help them.
“They’re very angry ... that I am not with them at these difficult times,” she said. “The women, especially, they keep sending me messages expressing their anger that, you know, ‘We need you to be here with us in the streets of Kabul,’ and they are right.”
Women she used to work with and who were the breadwinners in their families send her photos of themselves as reminders.
“Psychologically to process this and to be able to adjust and accept, it’s not been easy,” she said. “Not only for me, for every woman and man that I have met in the last two months after I left Kabul.”
For now, Koofi is focused on resolving residency status for herself and her daughters, ages 22 and 23. For security reasons, she declined to say where.
Some 100,000 Afghans have fled the country since the Taliban took power, though many were unable to leave in the final chaotic airlifts. The 38 million Afghans who remain are facing “ universal poverty ” within a year, the U.N. development agency said in September.
Koofi also warned of the threat from the Islamic State group in Afghanistan — known by its Arabic acronym Daesh — and called for renewed political negotiations because, she said, stability does not just come from the cessation of violence, but strong and inclusive institutions.
“If we think that one military extremist group, which is Taliban, is going to defeat Daesh — it’s not going to work that way,” she said.
“You need to continue to empower the nation, empower the people, educate them, support the political process.”
Taliban strike journalists at Kabul women's rights protest
Zahra Mohammadi, one of the protest organisers, told AFP the women were marching despite the risks they face.
"The situation is that the Taliban don't respect anything: not journalists -- foreign and local -- or women," she said.
"The schools must reopen to girls. But the Taliban took this right from us."
High school girls have been blocked from returning to classes for more than a month, while many women have been banned from returning to work since the Taliban seized power in mid-August.
"My message to all girls and women is this: 'Don't be afraid of the Taliban, even if your family doesn't allow you to leave your home. Don't be afraid. Go out, make sacrifices, fight for your rights'," Mohammadi said.
The Taliban struck several journalists to prevent media coverage of a women's rights protest in Kabul
BULENT KILIC AFP
Kabul (AFP)
A group of about 20 women marched from near the ministry of education to the ministry of finance in the Afghan capital.
Wearing colourful headscarves they chanted slogans including: "Don't politicise education", as traffic drove by shortly before 10 am.
The women held placards saying: "We don't have the rights to study and work", and" "Joblessness, poverty, hunger", as they walked with their arms in the air.
The Taliban authorities allowed the women to walk freely for around an hour and a half, AFP journalists saw.
Kabul (AFP)
A group of about 20 women marched from near the ministry of education to the ministry of finance in the Afghan capital.
Wearing colourful headscarves they chanted slogans including: "Don't politicise education", as traffic drove by shortly before 10 am.
The women held placards saying: "We don't have the rights to study and work", and" "Joblessness, poverty, hunger", as they walked with their arms in the air.
The Taliban authorities allowed the women to walk freely for around an hour and a half, AFP journalists saw.
However, one foreign journalist was struck with the butt of a rifle by one Taliban fighter, who swore and kicked the photographer in the back as another punched him.
At least two more journalists were hit as they scattered, pursued by Taliban fighters swinging fists and launching kicks.
Zahra Mohammadi, one of the protest organisers, told AFP the women were marching despite the risks they face.
"The situation is that the Taliban don't respect anything: not journalists -- foreign and local -- or women," she said.
"The schools must reopen to girls. But the Taliban took this right from us."
High school girls have been blocked from returning to classes for more than a month, while many women have been banned from returning to work since the Taliban seized power in mid-August.
"My message to all girls and women is this: 'Don't be afraid of the Taliban, even if your family doesn't allow you to leave your home. Don't be afraid. Go out, make sacrifices, fight for your rights'," Mohammadi said.
Afghans have staged street protests across the country since the Taliban returned to power, sometimes with several hundred people and many with women at forefront BULENT KILIC AFP
"We have to make this sacrifice so that the next generation will be in peace."
Children walked alongside the protest in downtown Kabul, although it was unclear if they were part of the organised group.
Some Taliban fighters policing the march wore full camouflaged combat gear, including body armour, helmets and knee pads, while others were wearing traditional Afghan clothing.
Their weapons included US-made M16 assault rifles and AK-47s.
Unthinkable under the hardline Islamist group’s last rule in the 1990s, Afghans have staged street protests across the country since the Taliban returned to power, sometimes with several hundred people and many with women at forefront.
But a ban on unauthorised demonstrations has meant protests against Afghanistan's new masters have dwindled.
© 2021 AFP
"We have to make this sacrifice so that the next generation will be in peace."
Children walked alongside the protest in downtown Kabul, although it was unclear if they were part of the organised group.
Some Taliban fighters policing the march wore full camouflaged combat gear, including body armour, helmets and knee pads, while others were wearing traditional Afghan clothing.
Their weapons included US-made M16 assault rifles and AK-47s.
Unthinkable under the hardline Islamist group’s last rule in the 1990s, Afghans have staged street protests across the country since the Taliban returned to power, sometimes with several hundred people and many with women at forefront.
But a ban on unauthorised demonstrations has meant protests against Afghanistan's new masters have dwindled.
© 2021 AFP
Afghan midwives vow to help mothers and babies under Taliban rule
Issued on: 22/10/2021 -
"Our demand now is that the Taliban provide a safe and open space for women to at least be able to help other women," the 52-year-old said.
The Community Midwifery Education School in Maidan Shar, the capital of the central Wardak province, has 25 students who will graduate in May 2022 after a stop-start two-year programme because of the unrest and the coronavirus pandemic.
At times during fierce fighting between the Taliban and former government forces the school would get caught in the crossfire, forcing teachers and students to bolt themselves behind steel doors.
Issued on: 22/10/2021 -
The teachers at the midwifery college in Maidan Shar have continued working for the sake of mothers and babies in the rural community despite the danger to their lives BULENT KILIC AFP
Maidan Shar (Afghanistan) (AFP)
But they kept working for the sake of the mothers and babies in their rural community.
Now, with the Islamist hardliners in control of Afghanistan, the instructors are calling on the new government to allow them to continue their work in peace.
Maidan Shar (Afghanistan) (AFP)
But they kept working for the sake of the mothers and babies in their rural community.
Now, with the Islamist hardliners in control of Afghanistan, the instructors are calling on the new government to allow them to continue their work in peace.
"I do my job because of a sense of humanitarianism and patriotism, and because I feel the need to serve my community and the most oppressed members of our society: women and children," teacher Shafiqa Bironi told AFP.
"Our demand now is that the Taliban provide a safe and open space for women to at least be able to help other women," the 52-year-old said.
The Community Midwifery Education School in Maidan Shar, the capital of the central Wardak province, has 25 students who will graduate in May 2022 after a stop-start two-year programme because of the unrest and the coronavirus pandemic.
At times during fierce fighting between the Taliban and former government forces the school would get caught in the crossfire, forcing teachers and students to bolt themselves behind steel doors.
During fierce fighting the school would get caught in the crossfire, forcing teachers and students to bolt themselves behind steel doors
BULENT KILIC AFP
"It was hard work," said course director Khatool Fazly, whose office walls still bear bullet holes. "There were battles literally every day."
In 2013, the previous school site was completely destroyed in an explosion targeting a prison next door that housed Taliban fighters.
'Overcome the challenges'
The Taliban, known for their oppressive rule from 1996 to 2001, have effectively excluded many women and girls from education and work, while some healthcare workers, encouraged to return, have been too afraid.
In May, the Taliban began snapping up government-controlled districts in Wardak province, before the whole country finally fell to the group in mid-August.
"It was hard work," said course director Khatool Fazly, whose office walls still bear bullet holes. "There were battles literally every day."
In 2013, the previous school site was completely destroyed in an explosion targeting a prison next door that housed Taliban fighters.
'Overcome the challenges'
The Taliban, known for their oppressive rule from 1996 to 2001, have effectively excluded many women and girls from education and work, while some healthcare workers, encouraged to return, have been too afraid.
In May, the Taliban began snapping up government-controlled districts in Wardak province, before the whole country finally fell to the group in mid-August.
Teachers at the midwifery college say they continue to work for humanitarian reasons and to help women in the community
BULENT KILIC AFP
For now, the new rulers have not imposed any new rules that would impact the work of the midwifery college.
Fazly said local Taliban loyalists' wives and children are among those who rely on its services.
The biggest challenge facing the midwives, like many healthcare workers across the country, is that they have not received their salaries for four months because of Afghanistan's dysfunctional banking system.
Steep progress has been made over the past 15 years, thanks in part to international aid organisations supporting healthcare facilities and training programmes like the one in Maidan Shar.
But Afghanistan still has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world and thousands of Afghan women die every year from pregnancy-related causes, most of which should be easily preventable.
Fazly set up the centre in 2004 to "overcome these challenges, particularly in our province".
The trainees study in a room lined with posters raising awareness on obstetric care as well as Covid prevention.
During a visit by AFP, about 10 women wearing white lab coats and headscarves gathered around plastic models of female anatomy and medical equipment, discussing labour and emergency procedures.
Since its founding, 181 women have graduated from the school.
"It is important for every citizen to serve their country and community by any means in any area, be it education or health because our people really need it," Fazly said.
© 2021 AFP
For now, the new rulers have not imposed any new rules that would impact the work of the midwifery college.
Fazly said local Taliban loyalists' wives and children are among those who rely on its services.
The biggest challenge facing the midwives, like many healthcare workers across the country, is that they have not received their salaries for four months because of Afghanistan's dysfunctional banking system.
Steep progress has been made over the past 15 years, thanks in part to international aid organisations supporting healthcare facilities and training programmes like the one in Maidan Shar.
But Afghanistan still has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world and thousands of Afghan women die every year from pregnancy-related causes, most of which should be easily preventable.
Fazly set up the centre in 2004 to "overcome these challenges, particularly in our province".
The trainees study in a room lined with posters raising awareness on obstetric care as well as Covid prevention.
During a visit by AFP, about 10 women wearing white lab coats and headscarves gathered around plastic models of female anatomy and medical equipment, discussing labour and emergency procedures.
Since its founding, 181 women have graduated from the school.
"It is important for every citizen to serve their country and community by any means in any area, be it education or health because our people really need it," Fazly said.
© 2021 AFP
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