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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
Read all about the Zan,
zendagi, azadi!> (Women, life, freedom) Revolution in Iran by clicking
here
The Guardian
29 Dec 2022
By Patrick Wintour - Diplomatic editor
<<G7 tell Taliban to reverse 'reckless and dangerous' ban on female aid
workers
Major world powers have called on the Taliban to urgently reverse a
<reckless and dangerous> decision to ban women from working for aid
agencies and charities. In a joint statement, foreign ministers from 12
countries, as well as an EU representative, warned the ban on women
working in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) would have an
inevitable impact on UN aid programmes because many of these
multimillion-dollar relief efforts were delivered and designed by NGOs.
<Women are absolutely central to humanitarian and basic needs
operations. Unless they participate in aid delivery in Afghanistan, NGOs
will be unable to reach the country's most vul-nerable people to provide
food, medicine, winterisation, and other materials and services they
need to live,> the letter said.
Signatories included the G7 group - Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, the UK and US - as well as the EU, Australia, Denmark, Norway,
Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The west appears to be trying to apply
maximum pressure on the Taliban to refine its ap-proach at the outset
rather than get locked into a drawn-out battle that sees humanitarian
programmes cut for weeks on end. <The Taliban continue to demonstrate
their contempt for the rights, free-doms, and welfare of the Afghan
people, particularly women and girls, and their disinterest in normal
relations with the international community,> the statement read. <[We]
are in close contact with the United Nations, who are urging, also on
behalf of all interna-tional donors, that the Taliban reverse this
decision immediately. This would avoid any disruption and allow the
continuation of all humanitarian operations of international and
national NGOs,> it added.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/29/g7-tells-taliban-to-reverse-reckless-dangerous-ban-on-female-aid-workers-afghanistan
The Guardian
29 Dec 2022
By Zahra Joya
<<I had to dress as a boy to go to school in Afghanistan in the 90s.
That would never fool today's cruel Taliban
In the past 15 months or so, life has changed unrecognisably for
Afghanistan's women and girls. Speak to secondary school pupils, their
parents and education activists, and you will hear just how de-vastating
the impact of the Taliban's school closures have been. It is hard to
fathom the depth of the darkness that has emerged as a consequence of
this action. Girls are dealing with the psychological fallout of being
cut off from their classmates and social networks. Many are struggling
with severe depression. Since secondary schools were closed, child
marriage has increased dramatically. Suicide rates among women and girls
have been steadily rising since the Taliban's return to power. Women
protesting against the Taliban's closure of universities in Kabul this
week have been beaten and whipped. Like most Afghan girls, my life has
been a struggle from day one. I wasn't allowed to go to school when I
was a child during the Taliban's first rule, in the 1990s. The Taliban
took away my basic right to education simply for being born a girl. But
I circumvented the ban and fooled them by dressing as a boy. I was
perhaps part of a lucky generation who had many opportunities in the
years after the US invasion in 2001. On a cold, rainy day in the spring
of 2011, I went to Kabul to start university - the first girl from our
small village in the Waras district of Bamyan province to do so.
Studying at university has never been easy for Afghan girls. Girls face
economic poverty, pre-carious housing, sexual harassment in the street
and dozens of other problems under the patriarchal rule. But, as a
result, we have an enthusiasm for learning and education that knows no
bounds - it is indescribable. Despite many objections from my relatives,
I couldn't describe how happy I was to be attending university - I could
see a future filled with hope. I graduated without any restrictions and
worked as a journalist. History has now repeated itself two decades
later. I don’t know if any brave girl would be able to trick the Taliban
again by wearing boys’ clothes to go to school. But we know there are
girls who are conducting secret classes, as some girls did in the 1990s,
to continue their education, alongside secret schools and libraries. I
am amazed by these girls' bravery. However, this is not a solution. It
is impossible for me, or anyone who is not suffering the effects of this
dark period in our country’s history, to explain the nightmare women and
girls are living in Afghanistan these days. Despite claims by Zalmay
Khalilzad, the former US special repre-sentative for Afghanistan peace
affairs, that this extremist group had changed the list of Taliban
prohibitions on the lives of Afghan women is getting longer by the day.
The first whip on the body of our society was the secondary school ban
for girls. Then the travel ban came, prohibiting women from walking the
streets unaccom-panied, the closure of parks and public baths to women.
After a period of increasing restrictions, universities for women were
closed and we were banned from working for NGOs. Now, Afghan women are
imprisoned in the home. For more than a year, Afghan women have had to
wake up to the bitter reality every morning that they are no longer
free; we are living under the rule of a gender apartheid regime. One
student at the faculty of law and political science in Kabul told me
that she wishes every day that her bitter reality under the Taliban's
rule was a nightmare she could wake from. Afghanistan has become a
prison where everyone is shouting out for freedom.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/29/i-dressed-as-boy-school-afghanistan-90s-fool-cruel-taliban
The Guardian
29 Dec 2022
By Sherin Yousfi
<<'In two days, I will have to beg on the streets': what the Taliban's
bar on women’s NGO work means
It has been just days since Gulsoom, the only breadwinner in her family
of six, has had no job to go to. But she is already feeling desperate.
It's the second time Gulsoom has lost a role over Taliban restrictions
on women. The first time was when the extremists came to power, and she
had to leave her position in the Ministry of Social Affairs. Now, the
28-year-old has lost her job with a private orga-nisation. Gulsoom
cannot bear unemployment. After losing her job in the ministry, it took
months of effort, competitive exams, interviews and applications before
she got her finance officer position in Kabul two months ago. But now,
all that is gone as well. <All my efforts were [reduced to] zero with
one command of the Taliban,> she says, adding that she has been
financially independent since the twelfth grade of school. Since
regaining power, the Taliban has imposed more extreme restrictions on
women, with the latest ban this week affecting women working in all
local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In one swoop,
thousands more have joined the plight of the unemployed in Afghanistan.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said
depriving women of work exacerbates the humanitarian crisis in
Afghanistan. Many wo-men who are the sole income earners for their
families are deeply shocked and stressed. Karishma, 27, was working as a
public rela-tions officer in a Turkish organisation. On Tuesday night
she received a message from her office telling her she could no longer
come to work. She lives as part of a family of eight and says her father
is unable to work because of his age, while her older brother has fled
the country in fear of reprisals from the Taliban for being part of the
Afghan national security forces. <I'm completely in shock,> she says. <I
was confused about how to buy flour, pay the rent, and everything. We
are five sisters who were all students and emplo-yees,> she says. <But
now we are all at home, grieving, wondering how to move forward with
life.> Karishma has a bachelor's degree from Kabul University. She had
struggled for years to get where she is now, and feels all her efforts
have evaporated overnight. The ban on women working comes just days
after the Taliban suspended girls' education at every level. The
reaction has been strong. Women have taken to the streets to protest,
and have been met with violence and detainment. Countries and
international organisations have condemned the ban on women working.
International aid age-ncies say they are withdrawing from Afghanistan
after the Taliban ban. Some, including Save the Children, the
International Rescue Committee, CARE International, and the Norwegian
Refugee Council, say they provide critical healthcare for vulnerable
people, but the new bar on women working for NGOs means their workforce
is effectively halved. Unicef says the working ban will have a
devas-tating impact on the provision of health services, food, and
educa-tion to children. The EU announced that it is reviewing its aid
distribution to Afghanistan. The action has also divided members of the
Taliban. Amir Khan Muttaqi and Mullah Ghani Baradar, two prominent
members of the group, agreed on social media: <People want work,
security, and education.> >>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/dec/29/what-taliban-bar-on-women-ngo-work-means
France 24
26 Dec 2022
<'‘If we cannot work with women in Afghanistan, we cannot do our job'
The acting head of the United Nations' mission to Afghanistan told the
Taliban to reverse a decision to ban female NGO workers during a
meeting, according to a statement on December 26. FRANCE 24 spoke with
Becky Roby, who works with a Norwegian humanitarian group, told our
reporters, <We’ve been left with no choice -- as men cannot visit at
risk females in Afghanistan -- but to temporarily suspend our
activities>.>>
Watch a video, 02.24 min., here:
https://www.france24.com/en/video/20221226-if-we-cannot-continue-to-work-with-women-in-afghanistan-we-cannot-do-our-job
The Guardian
26 Dec 2022
By Patrick Wintour - Diplomatic editor
<<UN Afghanistan head meets Taliban over ban on female aid workers
The acting head of the UN mission in Afghanistan met Taliban leaders on
Monday in a bid to persuade them to withdraw their ban on all women
working for aid agencies. Ramiz Alakbarov met the Taliban's economy
minister, Din Mohammad Hanif, in Kabul, telling him that millions of
Afghans need <humanitarian assistance and removing barriers is vital>.
Nida Mohammad Nadim, the Taliban higher education minister, responded to
the international criticism, saying his government will not change its
mind on girls' access to education <even if they drop an atomic bomb on
us> adding <we are ready for sanctions by the international community>.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar announced in a
statement that access to work is a principle of human rights that is
accepted by all countries of the world. It is the latest government of a
Muslim country to criticise the Taliban's move. At least seven ma-jor
international aid groups have suspended their vitally needed operations
in Afghanistan, potentially leaving the country's battered economy on
the brink of collapse. The aid agencies hope that by ac-ting in unison
and showing solidarity, they can convince the Taliban they have crossed
a red line that makes it impossible for the NGOs to operate. About a
third of the NGOs' staff are women, and seen as vital in providing
services in a culturally appropriate way. The ban applies to NGOs, but
does not as yet apply to the staff of UN agencies such as the World Food
Programme and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
In a bid to head off a ban, the aid agencies had held meetings with the
Taliban leadership, giving assurances over female staff wearing the
hijab and travelling extended distances only in the company of a male.
But the NGOs said the Taliban had ignored the undertakings and revoked
the pro-mises. The move was seen as a decisive signal that Taliban had
decided to reimpose all the repressive measures against women that it
enforced in the 1990s when it was last in power, and in so doing finally
buried the notion that the rural Pashtun conservative culture was no
longer dominant in the Taliban leadership. Many had suggested the
Taliban had reformed during their two decades out of power. Last week,
the Taliban also banned women from attending university. Girls are
already banned from secondary schools, and in November, women were
banned from public gardens, gymnasiums and public baths.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/26/aid-groups-suspend-afghanistan-operations-after-ban-on-women-working-for-ngos
Jinha
Womens News Center
26 Dec 2022
<<University lecturers resign to protest Taliban's gendered policies
Kabul - After the Taliban banned women from entering universities in
Afghanistan, many Afghan women and students have taken to the streets
and staged protests against the decision made by the Tali-ban
government. Male students of the Nangarhar University boy-cotted exams
in protest of the decision while women marching in Kabul were detained
along with journalists. No information has been received yet about where
they have been taken. Another protest came from university professors
and lecturers. Dozens of university professors and lecturers have
resigned in order to support the women, who have been deprived of their
right to education. In an interview with NuJINHA, B.S., one of the
professors of the university, said: <There have been deals between the
US and the Taliban, in which the people of Afghanistan, particularly
women, are the victims. Several days ago, we learned that the Taliban
banned women from entering universities. All professors and lecturers
were afraid of this news, because some students were about to take their
annual exams. The professors and lecturers sent a message to all their
students to come to the university in the morning for their exams, so
that I would take their exams before the implementation of the de-cision
of the Taliban. Majority of the students came to university to take
their exams; however, the armed forces of the Taliban entered the
classrooms and did not allow female students to take their exams. We
tried to keep the exams secret but our efforts went down the drain.>
The names of some professors and lecturers, who have resigned are as
follows:
To be read here:
https://jinhaagency1.com/en/actual/university-lecturers-resign-to-protest-taliban-s-gendered-policies-32512
France 24
25 Dec 2022
Text by News Wires, video (04,26 min.) by France 24
<<Save the Children among NGOs halting Afghan operations after ban on
female staff
Three foreign aid groups, including Save the Children, announced on
Sunday they were suspending their operations in Afghanistan after the
Taliban ordered all NGOs to stop their women staff from working.
The announcement came as top officials from the United Nations and
dozens of NGOs operating in Afghanistan met in Kabul to discuss a way
ahead after the Taliban's latest restriction delivered a blow to
humanitarian work across the country. <We cannot effectively reach
children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our
female staff,> Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE
said in a joint statement. <Whilst we gain clarity on this announcement,
we are suspending our programmes, demanding that men and women can
equally continue our lifesaving assistance in Afghanistan.> Saturday's
order issued by the Taliban authorities drew swift international
condemnation, with governments and organisations warning of the impact
on humanitarian services in a country where millions rely on aid. The
latest restriction comes less than a week after the hardline Islamists
banned women from atten-ding universities, prompting global outrage and
protests in some Afghan cities. The Ministry of Economy on Saturday
threatened to suspend the operating licences of NGOs if they failed to
implement the order. The ministry, which issues these licences, said it
had received <serious complaints> that women working in NGOs were not
observing a proper Islamic dress code. A meeting of the Humanitarian
Country Team, which comprises top UN officials and representatives of
dozens of Afghan and foreign NGOs was being held in Kabul to discuss
whether to suspend all aid work following the latest Taliban directive,
aid officials told AFP.>>
Read more here:
https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20221225-three-foreign-aid-groups-suspend-afghanistan-operations-after-ban-on-women-staff
France 24
24 Dec 2022
<<Taliban ban women from working in national, international NGOs
Kabul (AFP) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers ordered all national and
international NGOs to stop their women employees from working after
<serious complaints> about their dress code, the Ministry of Economy
told AFP on Saturday. The order threatened to suspend the operating
licences of NGOs that failed to implement the directive.
The latest restriction comes less than a week after the Taliban au-thorities
banned women from attending universities, prompting global outrage and
protests. While the Taliban had promised a softer form of rule when they
returned to power in August last year, they have instead imposed harsh
restrictions on women -- effectively squeezing them out of public life.
<There have been serious com-plaints regarding the non-observance of the
Islamic hijab and other rules and regulations pertaining to the work of
females in national and international organisations," said a
notification sent to all NGOs, a copy of which was obtained by AFP and
confirmed by a spokesman for the ministry of economy. <The ministry of
economy ... instructs all organisations to stop females working until
further notice,> the notification said.>>
Read more here:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221224-taliban-ban-women-from-working-in-national-international-ngos
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