(C) Freedom House
This story was originally published by Freedom House and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Three Years after the Fall of Kabul, Afghan Activists Remain in Hiding or Await Resettlement Abroad [1]
[]
Date: 2024-08
August 15 marks the third anniversary of the fall of Kabul in 2021, when Taliban forces captured Afghanistan’s capital and completed their armed takeover of the country. The event has had a dramatic effect on the many Afghan activists who worked to improve human rights conditions during the two decades after the previous Taliban regime was ousted.
To reflect on the conquest and its impact, Freedom House interviewed R. K., a human rights defender who was forced to flee to Pakistan when the Taliban returned to Kabul. Her full name is being withheld to ensure her safety.
Freedom House: Please describe your work in Afghanistan and why you were forced to leave.
R. K.: I worked for more than 20 years in Afghanistan with various international organizations. Our programs sought to protect women and girls, oppose gender-based violence, and advocate on behalf of and provide humanitarian support to people at risk. I have two daughters and a son, and I am in Pakistan now fleeing Taliban persecution.
During the Taliban takeover of Kabul, I worked with an international organization to evacuate human rights defenders. While a colleague and I were meeting potential evacuees, the Taliban tracked and captured us, and we were imprisoned for almost a week. I was kept alone in a separate cell. I had no idea about my colleague’s whereabouts, and my family was unaware of my arrest. During that week in the prison, I was interrogated several times by the Taliban. They accused me of blasphemy, of being an American spy, and of spreading immorality and immodesty among women. The Taliban officer interrogating me took my phone. I had no contact with a lawyer. Conditions in the prison were inhumane, I was beaten with a weapon and was constantly screamed at for being an infidel. I was finally released after I pleaded for help; my daughter was two years old at that time, and I kept repeating to Taliban: “She needs me, let me go. ”
After I was released, my arrest was perceived as a stigma on my family. I carried serious mental health issues that have affected my ability to take care of myself and my kids. Nonetheless, I continue to seek ways to protect my family and prevent any future incident.
How did you make the journey from Afghanistan to Pakistan?
When I was released by the Taliban, my phone was not given back to me, and I lost all of my contacts. I was asked to sign a form stating that under no circumstances would I work with any national or international organization or agencies in the future. I was told that if I contacted any foreigner, particularly Americans, my family and I would face serious consequences. During my arrest, my family members tried all possible means to reach out to me, but it was impossible. After being released, everyone correctly assumed that I had been severely tortured, and they could not reach out for support due to fear of the Taliban. My house was under surveillance, and I and my family were constantly in a state of fear. I left Kabul and was in hiding in another part of Afghanistan for almost a year, until my passport was extended and I got the visa to enter Pakistan.
Please explain the resettlement process, and the circumstances of your life in Pakistan.
Arriving in Islamabad, I was relieved that I was no longer under surveillance by the Taliban. My children and I had a valid Pakistani visa, and some cash to survive. We spent the first few months chasing my US contacts and the European Union offices I had served for many years to ask for help. I was deeply disappointed to learn that these organizations had no plan to support their former staff, particularly the female staff at risk. I applied for resettlement through the governments of the US and EU countries and, after a year, had received no positive reply. As I was exhausting the money I brought, I started exploring education and employment opportunities. Despite a year-long search, I had only secured one initial emergency grant for my family. I could not send my kids to school, as I could not afford to meet their expenses. I started teaching in a private institution for 10 hours a day and was paid only 30 dollars a month. My financial situation became dire, and I struggled to pay for required visa extensions and police registration for the family.
The Pakistani government began engaging in mass expulsions of Afghan refugees in late 2023. How has this campaign affected you and your family?
When the deportations ramped up in November 2023, I had submitted all our passports for visa renewal and was awaiting a decision. Meanwhile, my home was searched by the Pakistani authorities several times, and we were harassed and told to leave the country. I was scared for my kids, as the authorities involved were carrying weapons and intimidating families. I was fined $3,000 because the visa extension process was delayed by a company we used that failed to submit the documents on time. My extended family members helped me to pay the police fine. I also paid several visits to the authorities to request that the fine be waived, but I was badly treated and warned.
Throughout this phase, the support from the international organizations was nonexistent; we tried to reach out to the UNHCR [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] and SHARP [Society for Human Rights and Prisoners’ Aid] offices multiple times, but no one would answer our calls. We also were initially glad to receive a letter from the US State Department to show to the authorities; the letter was supposed to prevent the deportation of people in the US immigration pipeline. This letter, however, was discarded by the police when they searched my home, threatened me, and told me to leave the country. Many people in the refugee community left Pakistan and headed back to Afghanistan at that time for fear of being arrested, mistreated, and fined by the authorities.
Can you go back to Afghanistan?
No, the situation has significantly deteriorated and worsened since I left Afghanistan. The Taliban continue to impose severe restrictions on women and girls, deny women access to movement, education, employment, and even prohibit them from going to hair salons and gyms. The Taliban have carried out the arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, and physical and sexual abuse of young women protesters who dared to raise their voices against harsh restrictions. I know women who suffer from trauma after being released from Taliban prisons and have attempted suicide. Family members of women human rights defenders were also forced to leave their homes, and many are either in hiding inside the country or have fled to neighboring countries seeking protection, as I have.
What are your messages for the United Nations and other international organizations?
I strongly believe that no one wants or is forced to leave everything behind and flee from stable countries where the authorities respect people’s rights. This is the second time in my life I have had to become a refugee, both times due to the Taliban’s restrictive rules on women and girls. I have two daughters, and I want them to receive an education and be able to work. I want the same for my son and that he grows up respecting women. Under the current Taliban regime, it is not possible. It has been three years since girls were prohibited from going to school beyond sixth grade and women were sidelined from all spheres of life. These policies further push boys and men to normalize domestic violence, as women and girls are now more vulnerable and dependent on their male family members.
The international community must ensure that the Taliban are held accountable for mass violations of human rights in Afghanistan. Secondly, the United Nations should pressure the Taliban to adhere to human rights principles and provide opportunities for all to live without fear of arbitrary arrests and persecution in Afghanistan. International organizations like UNHCR must pay serious attention to the situation of people at risk in neighboring countries, particularly female-headed families. Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and refugee (P1 and P2) cases in the pipeline to resettle in the United States should be moved more quickly. EU countries should speed up work on the cases of people promised relocation from Pakistan to destination countries. It has been three years since the Taliban seized Kabul, and many human rights defenders like me are still trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty and violence that we suffer inside Afghanistan and in neighboring countries.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://freedomhouse.org/article/three-years-after-fall-kabul-afghan-activists-remain-hiding-or-await-resettlement-abroad
Published and (C) by Freedom House
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/freedomhouse/
