Taliban released four women’s rights activists but fear remains
On February 12, the Taliban released four Afghan women’s rights activists, who had been arrested nearly a month earlier. According to US activists and diplomats, dozens of others are being held by the Taliban. So far, the released women have not been able to share what happened to them in Taliban custody because of the severe suffering they experienced, according to our observer, who is connected to the relatives of the victims.
The Taliban captured the Afghan capital, Kabul, on August 15, 2021, re-establishing their authority over the country. Some of the first signs of dissent came from groups of women’s rights activists who dared challenge the Islamist movement in an effort to regain their rights.
. © Observers
The video was captured moments before the Taliban stormed the home of women’s rights activist Tamana Zaryabi Pariani and arrested her. In the video, she can be heard saying, “The Taliban attacked our house. Oh my God, my sisters are here too. Please go, I can’t meet you late at night with these girls. I won’t open, please go. Help, help!”
Women’s rights activists have held multiple rallies around Kabul in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover, protesting the group’s first restrictions on women and girls: the right to participate in Afghan politics and the right to education.
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Atefeh Ghafuri is an Afghani journalist and women’s rights activist. She had to leave Afghanistan for Europe after the Taliban made direct threats to her and her family. She told France 24 observers team what happened.
Tamana [Zaryabi Paryani]Zahra [Mohammadi]Paruana [Ibrahimkhel]and sender [Ayar] Four activists arrested by the Taliban with some of their relatives in Kabul. We only knew that the Taliban had kidnapped them, and we didn’t hear anything about them until they were finally released. I was able to speak with some of their relatives, so I know they had such hard days in Taliban prison that they were both morally and psychologically devastated. They still can’t talk about it – they are completely shocked.
We are aware of these cases because they have been publicly reported by their family or friends, but the real number of victims appears to be much higher than this. However, many families refuse to speak out due to Taliban pressure and threats. There are many women’s rights activists who have received threats online, by phone, or by mail. Some have been summoned to Taliban police offices, including the missing women.
Sometimes they even threaten the activists’ families. They told some families, “If you want to keep your wife or daughter safe, keep quiet.” It puts more pressure on activists.
A Taliban soldier hits a female protester with an iron bar, September 7. A video sent to us by one of our observers in Kabul.
Our Observer is no stranger to these kinds of threats.
Even weeks before the Taliban took over the country, my father was walking down the street and in front of the governor’s office, a man pointed a gun to his head and threatened to kill him and my entire family if I didn’t stop working. It was terrible. For weeks, I couldn’t go out, couldn’t even write anything on my social media accounts, fearing that if I said or did something, they would not only kill me but all my relatives.
The Taliban is holding at least 29 women, Rina Amiri, the US special envoy for Afghan women, girls and human rights, said on February 12. However, some human rights activists in Afghanistan say the number is much higher.
Activists had to change locations in order to stay safe after each threat and each protest. However, Tamana and Parvaneh were arrested at their homes on January 19, just an hour before Taliban representatives met with Norwegian officials in Oslo to talk about women’s rights.
Immediately after the Oslo meeting, three others were kidnapped. According to their families, the kidnappings were violent: dozens of armed men broke into homes, beat people and arrested activists without any explanation.
Amir Khan Muttaki, the Taliban’s foreign minister, claimed at the Oslo meeting that there were some rogue groups within the Taliban carrying out operations like this without the Taliban’s approval. It could refer to the Haqqani Network, the military division of the Taliban [Editor’s note: responsible for some of the most devastating attacks in Afghanistan].
>> Read more on The Observers: ‘I dare not go out anymore’: Women in Kabul live in fear after the return of the Taliban
On January 23, a group of senior Taliban members, including Amir Khan Mottaki and Anas Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani faction, met with Western officials in three days of meetings in Oslo to discuss human rights. In the meetings, the Taliban denied any involvement with the abductees.
The Afghan Deputy Minister of Information and Culture, Zabihullah Mujahid, also denied the allegations.
Initiatives like the Oslo meetings do not help Afghan women, as we can see that they have arrested women’s rights activists even after that. Nothing has changed in favor of the woman. Inviting internationally wanted terrorists like Anas Haqqani to Norway gives them more legitimacy.
The only thing Western governments can do is stop helping the Taliban at all levels. The government in Afghanistan should only be recognized if it is inclusive, free, election-based, and guarantees women’s rights and roles in politics [Editor’s note: no country has yet recognised the Taliban government in Afghanistan].
Taliban elements shoot in the air to disperse protesters, 7 September. Video sent by one of our observers in Kabul.
A number of Afghan activists gathered in Oslo during the meetings to demand women’s rights and the release of the kidnapped activists.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guteron called on January 26 for the release of recently detained or kidnapped female activists.
The release of these four women does not mean that the Taliban has changed course, as so far, the Taliban have only responded to families’ inquiries about the arrests of their loved ones – whether in public cases or not – by denying any involvement with them.
They are playing a simple game of gaining international recognition as Afghanistan’s sovereign leaders, opening frozen assets in international banks and receiving international humanitarian aid. [Editor’s note: the US has frozen roughly $9.5 billion of Afghanistan’s foreign assets as well as imposed financial sanctions on the country]. However, on the other hand, they want to suppress any kind of dissent within the country, and the activists were the first – and only – group that dared to challenge the authority of the Taliban. So they commit these atrocities without claiming any responsibility.
The release of these four women does not mean that the Taliban have changed course due to international pressure. There are still many other people illegally behind bars. They were never held responsible for these arrests.
Unfortunately, I think it works. With threats, arrests, families asking activists to surrender… Every day, there are fewer and fewer women who dare to speak out.
