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THE BELOW (updated 12 MAR 2022)
When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi
figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da
qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so
called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali
Al Jazeera
23 Apr 2022
<<Pakistan army post attacked by fighters from Afghanistan
Three military personnel dead after an assault on a military
installation in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region.
....
It was unclear which of the many armed groups in Afghanistan was
responsible for the assault.
....
Another attack on Thursday on the Abdul Rahim Shaheed school in Kabul
killed seven children. It reopened on Saturday with students remembering
their fallen classmates with roses.
....
The striking increase in attacks in Afghanistan – as well as in
neighbouring Pakistan – highlights the growing security challenge facing
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, who swept to power last August in the
closing days of the chaotic withdrawal of American and NATO troops
ending their 20-year war. An ISIL (ISIS) affiliate known as the Islamic
State in Khorasn Province, which claimed the recent spate of attacks in
Afghanistan as well as in neighbouring Pakistan, is proving an
intractable challenge.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/23/pakistan-army-post-attacked-by-fighters-in
Opinion by Gino d'Artali
30 Mar 2022
Today ISIL or another affiliate attacked a mosque in Kabul and I can
only think: 'This is Haram'. But not only concerning the Islam itself
but affiliates from ISIS and Al qaida are renforcing themselves all
over, for example also in Syria where they are forming (again) an
Islamic state. But also in Afghanistan i.e. the taliban (read below).
Allah forbids knowing too well that women and girls rights are more and
more in danger.
Al Jazeera
29 Apr 2022
<<Taliban supreme leader urges world to recognise ‘Islamic Emirate’
Haibatullah Akhunzada calls on the international community to recognise
the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan.
The supreme leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhunzada, has called on
the international community to recognise the <Islamic Emirate> of
Afghanistan in a message ahead of Eid holidays without touching on the
issue of girls’ education. The Taliban-led government is yet to be
recognised by any country since it returned to power last August, 20
years after it was toppled in a US-led invasion.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/29/taliban-supreme-leader-urges-world-to-recognise-islamic
Al Jazeera
OPINION,
<We should not forget the dangers hiding under Afghan soil
Sanctions introduced after the Taliban takeover should not serve to
hinder de-mining efforts in Afghanistan.
By Charlotte Slente
Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
24 Apr 2022
Today, due to displacement, economic collapse, and a disintegration of
social services including health and education, most Afghans are living
in increasingly precarious conditions. Up to 23 million Afghans are
facing acute hunger – more than half of the country’s population. As the
world is rightfully looking at Ukraine, we must not forget Afghanistan.
The current humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is to some extent the
result of the international sanctions introduced after the fall of the
Afghan government last August. While sanctions can be a legitimate
political tool, they must not put civilians at risk. Some threats these
sanctions pose to the lives of Afghan civilians are very visible, but
others are hidden under the soil – waiting to explode.
Decades of conflict have littered Afghanistan with land mines and other
explosive remnants of war. As a result, today the country is one of the
most contaminated in the world. A few weeks ago, four children lost
their lives in Herat, Afghanistan when an old grenade exploded in their
hands. A couple of months ago, nine children perished in a similar
accident in the village of Degnan in Nangahar Province. Since the
beginning of 2022, many more have been killed, hurt and wounded in this
way. In 30 years, more than 41,000 civilians have lost their lives to
unexploded ordnances. In 2021, 79 percent of the victims were children.
Together with local partners, DRC has worked with humanitarian mine
action in Afghanistan since 1999 – conducting mine clearance activities,
destroying unexploded ordnance from old battlefields, and providing risk
education to civilians to teach them how to avoid being harmed. First
and foremost, to save lives, but also because de-mining operations are
crucial for Afghanistan’s future. Without de-mining, Afghans harmed by
decades of war cannot build themselves a safe future in their country.
Without effective de-mining operations, farming cannot happen,
internally displaced people cannot return to their villages, and
education cannot be effective as children cannot go to school. Now, the
efforts to clear Afghanistan of mines and unexploded ordnances are
hanging by a thread. With the current international sanctions, it is a
more difficult task than ever before to get specialised mine clearance
tools into the country. So there is a risk that lifesaving Afghan-led
de-mining activities will have to be radically scaled down. The
pressures introduced by sanctions may soon result in the collapse of
Afghanistan’s de-mining ministry. Such a collapse would be a painful
setback for the people of Afghanistan and for the efforts to clear their
land of dangerous remnants of war. Capacities built and knowledge
gathered over decades could suddenly be lost. The vast majority of the
ministry’s employees have been in their jobs for years and have worked
tirelessly in partnership with the international mine clearance
community. Regardless of who is in power in the country, these employees
deserve investment and support. Paradoxically, the risk of collapse is
happening at a time where there is a momentum to increase the space in
which we can work, and to expand operations into areas that have been
left contaminated by deadly weapons for too long. With the decrease in
fighting since August 2021, there is now greater access to communities
and more of the country than ever before. We are standing in front of a
unique window of opportunity to scale up de-mining work, with the
potential to save countless lives. It is an opportunity we must seize.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/4/24/we-should-not-forget-the-dangers-hiding-under-afghan-soil
The Guardian
21 Apr 2022
<<Interview
‘We had 4,000 policewomen in Afghanistan. Let them get back to work’
By Ruchi Kumar
Gulafroz Ebtekar, a former top CID officer in Kabul, tells how she
escaped the Taliban and is now working in exile to restore justice for
the women of her homeland.
Supported by The Guardian.org
hen the Taliban entered Kabul on the morning of 15 August last year,
Gulafroz Ebtekar refused to leave her office in the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) at the Ministry of Interiors. <Everybody
rushed home, but I had responsibilities. I couldn’t just leave, even if
the Taliban were coming,> says Ebtekar of her role as the former deputy
general director of the CID’s family response unit.– She chose to stay,
knowing that the Taliban would seek revenge for the many cases she had
investigated against their members. With a career in the Afghan police
forces spanning more than 12 years, she led the department that oversaw
cases of gender-based violence, including many in Taliban-controlled
areas. <I only left when I learned that the president had fled the
country,> the 34-year-old says, from her temporary accommodation in
Shëngjin in Albania. Raised in a small village in the central province
of Daykundi in the 1990s, Ebtekar remembers the last era of Taliban
rule. <They shut all the girls’ schools in our village, but I wanted to
study and I was a difficult child. My parents finally gave in and
enrolled me at the only boys’ schools in the village, despite criticism
from village elders,> she says. Eventually, she was the only girl who
graduated from high school in the village, and she went on to become one
of the few Afghan policewomen with a masters degree in law and order
enforcement. Clearly, that spirit of determination lived on in her
career. <Upon joining the forces, I realised there was a need for
professionalising them,> she says. <The police in Afghanistan had a very
bad reputation. Not only were they perceived as a corrupt institution,
but the women who worked there were seen to have questionable morals.
When I first joined, many of my relatives told my family I had picked a
bad profession and I wouldn’t be able to find a good husband,> she says,
laughing. Undeterred, Ebtekar focused her energy on inspiring change
within the forces. <Most policewomen were not aware of their rights,
which would lead to them being abused. So I approached the senior
management to focus on providing women in the forces with training and
higher education. I believed it would not only empower them but also
help them better protect the rights of Afghan women who approached
them.> Her advocacy, she tells the Guardian, resulted in an internal
campaign to provide opportunities for higher education among the
4,000-strong policewomen. <My department was responsible for
investigating cases of gender-based violence, particularly domestic
violence, that were registered by women. Between 2018 and 2021, I can
recall working on nearly 12,000 cases. This is a disturbing number,
considering that most Afghan women who experience domestic violence
don’t register their cases with the police.>
However, nearly all of Ebtekar’s accomplishments crumbled last summer,
and left her a pariah in a city now under the control of Taliban
fighters. <When I went home that last day from work, the Taliban had
already paid a visit to my house. They threatened my family with
consequences for my work in the police,> she says.
The decision to seek asylum abroad was an incredibly difficult one. <The
last time the Taliban came to power, I threw a tantrum and got my way,>
she says, referring to her schooling. <If only I could once again
achieve my dreams by sheer force of will…> >>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/apr/21/we-had-4000-policewomen-in-afghanistan-let-them-get-back-to-work
Al Jazeera
19 Apr 2022
<<Deadly blasts target boys’ school in Afghan capital Kabul
At least six killed after the school in Dasht-e-Barchi – a Shia Hazara
neighbourhood – was hit by two blasts, Kabul police spokesman says.
At least six people including students have been killed and 11 others
wounded after two blasts targeted a boys’ school in the Afghan capital’s
Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood, a Kabul police spokesman has said. Khalid
Zadran told AFP news agency on Tuesday that two improvised explosive
devices (IEDs) blew up outside the Abdul Rahim Shahid high school in
western Kabul.
<These are preliminary figures. We are at the site and waiting for more
details,> he said. Zadran said a third blast had occurred at an English
language centre several kilometres away but in the same area. He did not
specify whether it was caused by an explosive. There were no immediate
reports of casualties from there. He had earlier tweeted that three
blasts had rocked the school, which is in an area mainly inhabited by
the Shia Hazara community – an ethnic and religious minority frequently
targeted by ISIL (ISIS) attacks in the past.
....
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers say they have secured the country since
taking power in August, but international officials and analysts say the
risk of a rebellion remains. Many of the attacks in the past several
months have been claimed by ISIL. In May last year at least 85 people –
mainly female students – were killed and about 300 were wounded when
three bombs exploded near their school in Dasht-e-Barchi.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/19/kabul-boys-school-rocked-by-blasts-casualties-feared
Opinion by Gino d'Artali:
As I wrote and predicted before the taliban keeps repeating they have
everything under control but simply seem to not to be able not only to
silence the Afghanistan's Women's Resistance but also ISIS, Isil-K, Isil
and Al Qaida have joined forces not only to fight against the taliban
but moreso to (also like the taliban wants) implement a complete sharia
for women and girls.
And it is also my opinion that wether girl/woman or boy/man have the
right to education. It's called equality.
Al Jazeera
By Zuhal Ahad and Ruchi Kumar
6 Apr 2022
<<Shrinking public space for Afghan women as Taliban expands curbs.The
group is reimposing draconian restrictions, especially against women,
that are reminiscent of their past regime.
Kabul, Afghanistan – As a 35-year-old university lecturer, Nazifa
regularly took the local minivan, a popular means of transport in the
Afghan capital, Kabul, for her daily commute from home to the university
and back. As a native of the city, she was very familiar with the
highways, streets and back alleys, and rarely ever felt uncomfortable
travelling by herself..That was until last week, when the minivan that
Nazifa, who requested her name be changed, was travelling in was stopped
by a Taliban guard. <I was on my way home along with another female
colleague when a Taliban stopped our vehicle and asked us where our
mahram [male guardian] was. When we told him we did not have one, he was
furious,> she told Al Jazeera. <He made the driver drop us back to where
we were picked from, instructing him not to take female passengers
without mahrams. We had to walk for half an hour across the checkpoint
before we could find another taxi who could take us home,> she said. <I
felt very hopeless and sad that day,> Nazifa said. <Since then I feel so
much fear while travelling to work. I am so afraid they will stop me
again, and punish me. It is so humiliating to be considered so worthless
in one’s own homeland,> she said, breaking down.
Reminiscent of their last regime in the 1990s.
Since taking over Afghanistan last year, the Taliban rulers have
reintroduced draconian restrictions on freedoms and movements,
particularly directed at women, that are reminiscent of their last
regime in the 1990s. Increasingly though, over the last few weeks, the
Taliban leaders, particularly from its Ministry of Propagation of Virtue
and the Prevention of Vice, have announced many new restrictions, even
as criticism and international pressure mount against them.
<I am both father and mother to my daughters. I am the man and woman of
my household. I need to go out to care for my family. Where do I get a
mahram from?>
BY GULALAI, AN AFGHAN WOMAN
Al Jazeera
31 Mar 2022
By Ruchi Kumar
<<In Afghanistan, ‘people selling babies, young girls to survive’
Dire economic situation sees children dying of starvation as millions of
Afghans struggle to put food on their tables.
It has been more than 24 hours since Farahanaz, whose name has been
changed to protect her identity, has had a <proper meal>.
<As adults, we can manage, but when the kids ask for food, I don’t know
what to tell them,> the 24-year-old former radio presenter from northern
Afghanistan told Al Jazeera. When the family are able to eat, it’s often
only bread, and sometimes with vegetables, accompanied by watered-down
green tea. Sometimes there is sugar to put in the tea, which is a rare
luxury these days, as they struggle to survive after Farahanaz, the sole
breadwinner for the family of eight – lost her job after the Taliban
takeover of Afghanistan last August. <My younger sister was recovering
from surgery when the Taliban took control and lives were overturned.
She has lost so much weight, and falls sick when there isn’t enough to
eat,> Farhanaz said. But the family cannot afford medical assistance,
either. Farhanaz’s family is among the 23 million Afghans facing
starvation, in what has become a hunger crisis of <unparalleled
proportions>, according to Dr Ramiz Alakbarov, deputy special
representative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. <In
Afghanistan, a staggering 95 percent of the population is not eating
enough food … It is a figure so high that it is almost inconceivable.
Yet, devastatingly, it is the harsh reality,> Alakbarov said in a
statement issued in early March, adding that almost 100 percent of
women-led households were experiencing hunger. Alakbarov’s disturbing
claim is reflected in Farhanaz’s situation. <In better days, I was a
radio presenter, and also worked as a teacher part-time. Between my
brother, who worked in the Afghan security forces, and I, we were able
to feed and care for eight members of our family,> she said. <I even
supported my own education and paid for my university, while helping my
family,> she told Al Jazeera. However, after the Taliban takeover,
Farahnaz’s brother was forced to flee the country fearing persecution,
leaving her as the sole breadwinner of the family. <But when I went to
work after the fall of the previous government [of President Ashraf
Ghani], I was sent back. I lost my job, and have been struggling to feed
my family over the last seven months,> she said. Starvation and poverty
Since the Taliban returned to power, nearly 60 percent of women working
in the media have lost their jobs, according to the International
Federation of Journalists, more than 90 percent of whom were sole family
breadwinners. <Starvation and poverty are like a disease that not only
affects your dastarkhwan [traditional rug meant for dining], but also
your ability to challenge the situation and stand by your values,> said
Dr Wahid Majrooh, the former Afghan minister of public health. <It
impacts your sense of dignity,> said Majrooh, who, unlike many
government officials, refused to flee the country after the fall of the
Western-backed Afghan government in the interests of preventing the
collapse of the country’s underfunded health systems.
Simultaneously, increasing food insecurity has also led to a rise in
cases of malnutrition, and starvation-related mortalities, particularly
among children. Majrooh pointed out that with people’s purchasing power
affected, they also are unable to seek healthcare.
<Mothers cannot pay for their antenatal and postnatal care, and as
evident maternal mortality and morbidity rate is increasing
tremendously, and is also affecting child mortality,> he said, adding
that health facilities are also unable to meet the demand.>>
Please do read more:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/31/afghanistan-faces-hunger-crisis-of-unparalleled-proportions
And the embedded related articles (links):
- Is the US stealing Afghanistan’s money?
-Nazir Kabiri: Can Afghanistan avoid economic collapse?
And the below:
Gino d'Artali
Opinion - 30 Mar
Al Jazeera published an article about especially the humanitarian crisis
taking place right now after the taliban took over power in August 2021.
The article is headed by <China holds multinational meetings to discuss
Afghanistan. Representatives from regional countries plus Extended
Troika to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. China is
holding two multinational meetings in the ancient town of Tunxi to
discuss the economic and humanitarian crisis facing Afghanistan, as
Beijing makes a diplomatic push for the country’s stability and
development under the Taliban. Afghan acting foreign minister Amir Khan
Muttaqi is attending the two-day meeting to be attended by foreign
ministers of Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours – Russia, Pakistan,
Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. A separate meeting of the
<Extended Troika> will be held concurrently among special envoys for
Afghanistan from China, the United States and Russia, China’s foreign
ministry said.>
Now fact is that the crisis is dire and the poor Afghanistan people
urgently need help but almost the article did not mention the equally
dire situation of the suppressed women and little about equality and the
right for girls and women to study and/or work. Only these lines one can
read: <The talks also come amid widespread condemnation of the Taliban’s
U-turn last week on allowing girls to attend public high schools, which
has sparked consternation among funders ahead of a key aid donors
conference. The school closure prompted US officials to cancel talks in
Doha with the Taliban and a State Department warning that Washington saw
the decision as <a potential turning point in our engagement> with the
armed group.>>
Now I daresay that the one crisis cannot be solved without also the
other!
Read the article here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/30/china-holds-multinational-meetings-to-discuss-afghanistan
Read also this related article published the same date and with this
header: <Afghanistan aid pledges could fall far short of target,
officials fear. Taliban’s increasingly repressive rule could lead to
donor backlash at UN pledging conference on Thursday.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/30/afghanistan-aid-pledges-could-fall-far-short-of-target-officials-fear-taliban
European Union
External action
9 Mar 2022
<<EU supports Afghan Women : First meeting of Afghan Women Leaders Forum
in Brussels.
The sudden collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban take-over
on 15 August 2021, has had a dramatic impact on the Afghan people, in
particular women and girls. The European Union has been a strong
supporter of the women of Afghanistan for a very long time, and still
is. On 10 March the Afghan Women Leaders Forum is being launched through
a virtual meeting with almost 50 Afghan Women leaders joining from
Afghanistan and different parts of the world.
In the past months, there have been intense consultations between Afghan
Women Leaders and the EU Ambassador for Gender and Diversity, Stella
Ronner-Grubačić, and the EU Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Thomas
Niklasson. In those meetings, the Afghan Women Leaders expressed their
wish to be involved in the dialogue about their country and its future.
In response to this request, the EU has agreed to support the
establishment of an Afghan Women Leaders Forum as a first step to ensure
a structured and continuous platform for Afghan women from diverse
backgrounds. This Forum aims to facilitate an inclusive dialogue for
Afghan women from various sectors, to ensure that their views, concerns,
and priorities as part of the national dialogue about Afghanistan, are
conveyed to the Taliban appointed de facto government, and to the wider
International Community, including the EU. Nowhere in the world have
women’s and girls’ rights been challenged as they have been in
Afghanistan. The developments since last summer give cause for great
concern about the prospect for maintaining and enhancing the many gains
made by Afghan women in the last two decades. The EU has made it clear
on many occasions that any future EU development assistance to
Afghanistan will depend, among other things, on the respect for the
international normative and legal human rights’ framework, including
women’s and girls’ rights. With this, the EU has taken a principled
position; we are determined and committed to continue to support the
women and girls of Afghanistan and elsewhere, in line with our values
and principles. The monitoring of the situation for women and girls in
Afghanistan remains a priority, including through an ongoing dialogue
with representatives of Afghan women. In this regard, the Afghan Women
Leadeers Forum will be instrumental. >>
Read more here:
https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eu-supports-afghan-women-first-meeting-afghan-women-leaders-forum-brussels_en
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