‘I Won’t Be Free’: Afghan Women, Girls Face Grim Future After Expulsion From Pakistan
By Khujasta Kabiri, Fayeza Ibrahimi
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 15, 2023
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, thousands of Afghan families have fled to neighboring Pakistan.
Some escaped their homeland so that their daughters could continue their education, following the Taliban’s ban on women attending university and teenage girls from going to school.
Among them was Bibi Gul, who moved to Pakistan with her teenage daughter. A 10th grader, her daughter was seeking to graduate from high school. But both were recently deported by the Pakistani authorities.
Last month, Pakistan ordered 1.7 million undocumented Afghans to leave the South Asian country by November 1. The measure has spurred over 300,000 people to return to Afghanistan and has been followed up by police roundups and forced deportations.
Afghan girls and women who return to their homeland face a grim future. The Taliban has severely curtailed female education and women’s right to work. The extremist group has also imposed restrictions on women’s appearances and freedom of movement.
“We fled Afghanistan because my daughter was deprived of an education,” Gul told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi as she crossed Chaman, one of two key border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan. “Now that we have returned, she must be able to continue her studies.”
But there are few signs that the Taliban will reverse its restrictions on female education in Afghanistan, where rights groups have accused the hard-line group of trying to erase women from public life and imprison them in their homes.
Afghan women and girls who still remain in Pakistan live in constant fear of being forcibly expelled to Afghanistan, where they say they have no future.
Mina Aslami, an 11th grader, moved with her family to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, last year. She is intent on graduating from high school, although she fears her education will be cut short.
“If I return, I will just sit at home,” Aslami told Radio Azadi. “There are no schools or education courses [for teenage girls]. Even going out alone is prohibited, and I won’t be free.”
Masumah Ahmadi studies biotechnology at a university in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore. The fourth-year student said she will “endure the same stress, anxiety, and despair as the girls living in Afghanistan are experiencing” if she is forced to return to her homeland.
An estimated 700,000 Afghans, most of them undocumented, have sought refuge in Pakistan since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.
They joined around 3 million Afghans who have moved to Pakistan over the past four decades of war, poverty, and political upheaval in Afghanistan.
After initially targeting Afghans living “illegally” in Pakistan, Islamabad has said it will begin deporting the millions of Afghans living legally in the country.
Human rights groups have urged Islamabad to halt its mass deportations, warning it will endanger Afghan refugees, particularly women and girls.
Afghanistan is grappling with a devastating economic and humanitarian crisis as well as what rights groups have called a deepening “human rights crisis.”
“If the Pakistani government doesn’t halt the deportations immediately, it will be denying thousands of at-risk Afghans, especially women and girls, access to safety, education, and livelihood,” Livia Saccardi of Amnesty International said in a November 10 statement.
Asia moved to Pakistan so that her children could have a better future. But they were recently deported, leaving her facing an uncertain future.
“We are now facing many economic problems and our children struggle with educational challenges,” she told Radio Azadi.
Written by Abubakar Siddique based on reporting by Khujasta Kabiri and Fayeza Ibrahimi of RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Related
Taliban Issue Warning to Social Media Users in Khost Province: Publishing Political, Satirical, or Musical Content Results in Punishment
Taliban militant (file photo)
8am: Reliable sources on Wednesday, November 15, revealed that a joint team from the Taliban’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, along with the Crime Fighting Management, has initiated the tracking, apprehension, and punishment of social media users in Khost. According to these sources, the Taliban’s joint team has cautioned social media users against disseminating content contrary to the group’s policies, particularly content critical of or satirical about the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).
Related
Fly Dubai Flights to Kabul Resume
Tolo News: Fly Dubai, a UAE-based airline, resumed flights to Kabul on Wednesday, 24 Aqrab, after stopping for two years and four months. According to flydubai.com, the daily flights occur at 9:30 and 14:55, Afghanistan Time. “In the past, Fly Dubai had four flights every day. Now, from the 22nd, three daily flights will be started, today there is two flights, and from December, four daily flights will start. The price now of a round trip is 1100 Dirham (around $300) and it is expected that round trip tickets will eventually be $200,” Sader Khail said. Click here to read more (external link).
UN-Mandated Assessment Links Taliban’s Legitimacy to Afghan Women’s Freedom
Taliban fighters (file photo)
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
November 14, 2023
ISLAMABAD — An independent assessment commissioned by the United Nations has linked recognition of the Taliban government to compliance with Afghanistan’s international treaty obligations and commitments, requiring it to immediately remove sweeping curbs on women’s rights to education and employment opportunities.
“Any formal re-integration of Afghanistan into global institutions and systems will require the participation and leadership of Afghan women,” said a VOA-obtained draft copy of the report.
In March, a Security Council resolution asked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to conduct the assessment providing “forward-looking recommendations for an integrated and coherent” international approach to the Taliban-governed crisis-hit country by November 17. He appointed Feridun Sinirlioglu, a former Turkish government official, as the special coordinator to lead the mission.
Sinirlioglu traveled to Afghanistan and engaged with Taliban leaders, Afghan stakeholders residing outside the country, and critical regional and international stakeholders to assess the situation before submitting his report to the U.N. chief.
The document noted that the situation of women and girls — the restrictions on girls’ education in particular — was “the single most common” issue raised in the consultations. It was highlighted by Afghan women, girls, the business community, religious clerics, tribal elders, civil society, health and education professionals, and many representatives of the de facto Taliban authorities, it said.
Taliban ban women from school, work
The Taliban reclaimed power from an American-backed government in August 2021. They have imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law, banning schools for girls beyond the sixth grade and barring women from most public and private sector workplaces, including the United Nations and other aid groups.
“The DFA (de facto authorities) have tried to justify these restrictions as being part of the Islamic faith and Afghan traditions. However, similar restrictions do not exist in any other member state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and many Afghans reject the DFA’s characterization of local traditions,” the U.N. report said.
It noted that the restrictive bans are not consistent with the values embodied in the U.N. Charter or international law, nor are they conducive to Afghanistan’s political and economic stability.
TTP intensifies cross-border attacks
The report recommended, citing stakeholder consultations, that an Afghan national dialogue needs to be initiated to establish inclusive governance and ensure sustainable peace and economic development in the country after 45 years of armed conflict. It would permit movement toward the full normalization and integration of Afghanistan within the international system.
The international community should quickly identify a solution to unfreeze Afghanistan’s frozen assets, which are worth billions of dollars, and revisit the various sanctions regimes if the Taliban can demonstrate their ability to maintain the country’s commitments and govern inclusively, the report adds.
While the document hailed the Taliban’s counternarcotics efforts and improved security conditions across the country, it questioned de facto authorities’ counterterrorism resolve and regional security concerns stemming from it.
The assessment said, without naming any country, that several member countries “attest to the persistent presence of terrorist groups and individuals inside Afghanistan, including members of al-Qaida.” It added, citing recent U.N. reports, that some of these groups have relations with elements of the Taliban.
“According to these reports, significant numbers of fighters for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) appear to have free movement and shelter in Afghanistan and are carrying out an intensifying campaign of violence inside Pakistan.”
The report said the Taliban have demonstrated “limited responsiveness” to international engagement on the presence and treatment of such groups.
Pakistani officials say the TTP, a globally designated terrorist group, has intensified cross-border attacks from its Afghan sanctuaries since the Taliban returned to power two years ago, killing nearly 2,300 Pakistanis, including security forces.
The Taliban have not commented immediately on the reported U.N. assessment, though they have previously rejected criticism of their policies, including counterterrorism efforts. They have persistently defended their male-only administration, called the Islamic Emirate, as an inclusive dispensation representing all ethnicities and tribes in Afghanistan.
“It is clear from my consultations that we are universally united in our vision of an Afghanistan that is at peace with its people, its neighbors, and the international community,” said Sinirlioglu. “All stakeholders have a role to play in building a more peaceful, prosperous and predictable future for Afghanistan to the benefit of all Afghans.”
Related
Taliban Delegation Visits Pakistan Amid Expulsion of Afghans
Sarah Zaman
VOA News
November 14, 2023
ISLAMABAD — A high-level trade delegation of the Afghan Taliban government held trilateral talks on Tuesday with Pakistan and Uzbekistan in Islamabad. The talks come as Pakistan authorities are carrying out a mass expulsion of Afghans residing illegally in the country.
The delegation of Taliban government officials and Afghan businessmen, led by the acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, Alhaji Nuruddin Azizi, took part in meetings that “centered around advancing the trans-Afg project, trilateral transit and trade, challenges to regional connectivity, and other pertinent matters,” according to a statement by the Afghan embassy in Islamabad, posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The Trans-Afghan project is a 760-kilometer (472-mile) passenger and freight rail line in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. The three countries signed the agreement in July in Islamabad. The project is slated to be completed by 2027.
Calling the trilateral talks a significant step toward strengthening economic ties and regional connectivity, Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce Gohar Ejaz said on X, “bright prospects for trade, investment and connectivity lie ahead for mutual benefit of three countries.”
The Afghan Taliban delegation’s visit to Islamabad comes at a time when relations between the two sides are tense publicly.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban of taking insufficient action to reign in cross-border terrorism and providing haven to leaders and members of the banned militant outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar recently told media that Islamabad had asked Afghan Taliban “bluntly to choose between Pakistan and the TTP.” He said that Pakistan shared details and a list of wanted militant leaders with Afghan authorities, but that Kabul did not deliver on its counterterrorism pledges.
In response, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid once again denied Kabul was providing sanctuary to anti-Pakistan terrorists saying, “Pakistan should address their domestic problems instead of blaming Afghanistan for their failure.”
Alleging that Afghan citizens were taking part in terror attacks inside Pakistan, Islamabad last month ordered all those residing illegally in the country to leave or face deportation after November 1. The decision, although applicable to people of any nationality, primarily affected 1.7 million Afghans living in Pakistan to escape war and poverty.
The Taliban called Pakistan’s expulsion of Afghans “unacceptable” and “unjust.”
Speaking to VOA, Special Representative of Pakistan on Afghanistan Asif Durrani downplayed the recent tensions, saying each government was simply expressing its point of view.
“I don’t think there were harsh statements, neither from Pakistan side nor from Afghan side,” Durrani said.
The envoy rejected the notion that Pakistan’s support of the Taliban in its 20-year war against western troops had backfired since his country was seeing terrorism rise since the group’s return to power.
“This is a process, and we hope that good sense would prevail,” he said about the recent tensions in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. He also denied Pakistan ever supported the then-insurgent group.
Prior to Tuesday’s trilateral trade talks, the Taliban commerce minister met Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani.
“The FM [foreign minister] said full potential for regional trade and connectivity can be harnessed with collective action against terrorism,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said on X.
An Afghan embassy statement on X after the meeting said Azizi discussed transfer of property of Afghan refugees with Pakistan, among other issues.
Since the expulsion orders, nearly 300,000 Afghans have left Pakistan voluntarily while more than 1,300 have been deported. Many have been forced to leave their small businesses set up over the years or sell valuables such as cattle or construction material well below market prices on their way out.
Although Pakistan has lifted restrictions on how much currency Afghans returning to their country can take with them, reports of border guards taking cash and jewelry from Afghan returnees have emerged.
Durrani rejected the reports, saying, “I don’t think there is truth in it.” He said Pakistani border guards are disciplined and follow the orders of the government.
Speaking to VOA, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan said the talks were a positive development.
“Since a visit is now already taking place, I see signs of encouragement after the past few weeks when we saw there was no engagement.”
He said he believes the two sides will continue to work together.
After a day of talks, Pakistani commerce minister Ejaz held a brief joint press conference with the visiting Uzbek minister. The Taliban did not make an appearance.
Pakistani and Taliban officials will continue talks on Wednesday.
Continued Harassment of Civilians by the Taliban: Residents of Panjshir Endure Increasing Struggles
8am: Some residents of Panjshir claim that the Taliban periodically harass the local people, accusing them of possessing weapons and collaborating with the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF). They assert that the Taliban detain and imprison “one or two individuals” from the residents of this province and Kabul daily, but most of these incidents are not reported by the media. Furthermore, over the past two years, the Taliban have imposed strict restrictions, making living conditions challenging for the residents of Panjshir province. However, local inhabitants urge the international community and human rights organizations to exert serious pressure on the group to prevent “human rights violations” by the Taliban in the province of Panjshir. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – November 14, 2023
Banning Scholarships: The Taliban Minister Tells Students, ‘You Go as Muslims, Return as Communists’
Nadeem
8am: The Ministry of Higher Education, under Taliban control, has hindered the travel of around 500 male students to Russia. Scholarship recipients for Russian universities report that they have been accepted at various academic levels, and it has taken about six months for their study visas to be issued. However, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the acting head of the Taliban Ministry of Higher Education, is now expressing concerns about the faith of these students, telling them that they are going as Muslims but will return as communists. According to these students, Nadeem has informed them that they “cannot invite others to Islam and must tell the Russians that their religion is false.” The students further claim that this ministry had recently confiscated their passports and academic documents, stating that all students must undergo an ideological examination before being granted permission to travel. They add that the ministry initially conducted belief examinations on the students but has now retracted its stance, referring the matter to Mullah Habibullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the group. Click here to read more (external link).
Related
Paktika Officials: Gayan Earthquake Victims Still Homeless
Tolo News: Local officials of the Gayan district said that houses have not yet been built for many earthquake victims in the district. According to them, more than 7,000 houses in the district were destroyed in the deadly earthquake of 1401. The residents of Gayan Paktika district want the authorities to pay attention to the construction of roads, health centers, and other parts of their lives in addition to the construction of shelters. Click here to read more (external link).