A woman's voice from Afghanistan

"Our struggle will continue until we are acknowledged and recognised as valued members of society."

What is it like to be a girl or a woman in Afghanistan today? For International Women’s Rights Day, one of our female colleagues from Afghanistan shares the challenges women face and her personal experience after more than 25 years working with Tdh. Due to security reasons, we cannot mention her name.

How is it to be a woman in Afghanistan now???

Being a woman in Afghan society is very difficult. Afghanistan is one of the only places where women are not respected and treated with dignity. They are deprived of their basic rights, such as access to aid, healthcare, education, and are not protected from violence. I am extremely sad and disappointed about the current situation in the country. I fear that women are facing forced isolation in Afghanistan.??

Where do women find their strength??

Afghan women are very strong will resist most challenges. During this difficult time, many educated women started to work from home, girls attended online schools or universities. With the support of the international community, Afghan mothers and children were able to receive health services and psychosocial support by female doctors and midwives. These activities helped women to cope with the situation. Afghan women have also developed a sense of affection towards each other and have become even stronger than before. As an Afghan woman, I am proud of this!??

What is it like to be born as a girl today in Afghanistan? What future can they expect???

With deep sorrow and sadness about the reality of Afghan society, I must say that being a girl is difficult as women are discriminated in various ways. Families prefer boys as they are considered the only breadwinner. We hope for a future with gender equality and respect for women's rights, where being a woman is accepted and respected. To gain acceptance and respect from society, we must receive an education and have a voice to advocate for our rights. Therefore, our struggle will continue until we are acknowledged and recognised as valued members of society.?

"We hope for a future with gender equality and respect for women's rights, where being a woman is accepted and respected."

Dear colleague, you have been working with Tdh for 25 years now. What does this work bring you????

Tdh gives me the opportunity to help other Afghan women. We have helped mothers and newborns over the past few years, providing them with necessary healthcare and saving their lives in the most complicated cases. I am very proud of this. It motivates me to serve more mothers. Tdh is the only organisation working in mother and child services and adopting a unique approach of bringing health services to the houses of those who need it.??

How did you start working for Tdh??

During the first takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, I was an associate professor at the Kabul Medical University, but then I was denied access to research and couldn’t get a promotion because I was a woman. I then joined Tdh as a coordinator for the mother and child health programme. I saw women who didn’t have access to their basic rights and were victims of extreme domestic violence. They were living in camps and had no proper shelter, health care, and food. We assisted those women and provided health care services to them over the past 25 years. This taught me a life lesson: We should always thank Allah for what we have, because we never know what other people are going through.?

During the last 25 years of my work with Tdh, I have dedicated myself to the women of Afghanistan, and I am grateful to Tdh for giving me the opportunity and the platform to help these women through health projects.?

The 8th of March is International Women’s Day, what does that represent for women and girls in Afghanistan????

I wish and pray for the freedom of Afghan women on this special day. I hope that in the future, Afghan women will be resilient and strong women who survived the most difficult and dark days and came out with more power. Every Afghan woman should be given a platform to share her hope, resistance and freedom.??

"Every Afghan woman should be given a platform to share her hope, resistance and freedom."

How do you see the future???

No matter how difficult the situation is and how much pressure we are under, we remain hopeful for the years to come. I believe that the current situation will change and that women will be strong and be granted their rights. Now we are not allowed to work, to get an education or to move freely, but with Allah's help, these dark days will soon pass and we will witness the good days.?

What message would you like to share????

I would like to tell everyone that Afghanistan has so many beautiful cultural values, and a dynamic diversity. It is not only wars which are shown in the media. We have had many developments and social improvements in the last 20 years, and women were part of it. Therefore, we want the international community not to forget us, and to stand with us to fight for our freedom.

"We want the international community not to forget us, and to stand with us to fight for our freedom."