Photo: Ingo Winkelströter (cropped)
Tamana is a human rights and women’s rights activist who leads in Germany the campaign to 'End Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan. In an interview with ISHR, she tells us a little more about her work and vision for Afghan women.
On 15 August 2021, when the Taliban took over, it was a moment of life or death for me which led to my decision to stand against the Taliban, no matter what. I mobilised women to protest, and our protest continued until January 2022. I was arrested in my house, along with my three sisters, in the middle of the night. The decision to stand for human rights and for the rights of women in Afghanistan, for equality, liberty and democracy was a defining moment in my life.
We challenge the status quo to create international consensus that the condition of women in Afghanistan is tantamount to nothing but ‘gender apartheid’ and we relentlessly campaign for the codification of gender apartheid in international law. We, therefore, have started the ‘End Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan’ campaign in Germany.
If the people of Afghanistan, including women, were able to achieve a free, equal and just society, where equality between men and women is institutionalised, human rights are respected, pluralism and diversity are officially recognised, and people have the right to self-determination to democratic processes, Afghanistan will become a democracy. Our campaign wants to contribute to making this vision a reality.
In addition to having been imprisoned and tortured by the Taliban, which forced me into exile, I still face harassment and cyber bullying by pro-Taliban circles quite often.
The Taliban oppression of women in Afghanistan goes beyond their first stint in power (1996-2001). The Taliban’s policies on women and girls amount to nothing but ‘gender apartheid’. It is systematic and intentional.
The world must realise that the situation of women in Afghanistan is not only appalling for the people of the country but a disgrace to humanity, a stain in the conscience of humankind.
The world must act and criminalise the on-going ‘gender apartheid’ in Afghanistan.
My message to other women of Afghanistan is to stick to each other despite sectarian, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural differences as all women of Afghanistan face the same policies of ‘gender apartheid’ by the Taliban. Only together can we bring this system down. Women solidarity among us is key.
ISHR joins the call by women human rights defenders from Afghanistan, activists and legal experts for the international community to recognise and prosecute the crime of gender apartheid.
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