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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
'At Five In The Afternoon' By Samira
Makhmalbaf, 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16-1OU_AiCQ&list=PLZnm7eN6bQUWMUmzs33Zsy0dyI9MDDgnk&index=4
'I will resist': Afghan female journalists defy Taliban pressure.
The Guardian
May 28 2022
By Michael Savage Policy Editor
<<Revealed: Afghan journalists facing death threats and beatings,
despite UK pledge to save them.
A group of Afghan journalists who worked closely with the UK media for
years have revealed how they face beatings, death threats and months in
hiding, and accuse the government of reneging on a pledge to bring them
to Britain. Having fought in vain for clearance to come to the UK since
the return of Taliban rule last summer, the eight journalists are now
taking legal action against the government. They have applied for a
judicial review after waiting months for their applications to relocate
to the UK to be processed. They report only receiving standard response
emails from the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap)
programme. Members of the group told the Observer they had worked with
British media, reporting on operations against the Taliban, programmes
to rebuild Afghanistan’s infrastructure, the rights of women and the
fight against the drugs trade. They said that since the Taliban’s
takeover, they had received warnings that they were being targeted. In
the chaos of last summer’s evacuation from Kabul, the government
announced that it was issuing special visa waivers for Afghan
journalists who had worked with UK media, and their families. The then
foreign secretary Dominic Raab said at the time: <We must protect those
brave Afghan journalists who have worked so courageously to shine a
light on what is really going on in Afghanistan.> The government also
said relocation cases could be expedited if there was an <imminent
threat to life>. One of the group, Abas*, worked with the UK media over
many years, and had hoped to come to the UK months ago. But nine months
after the Taliban stormed back to power, he remains trapped and at
serious risk. Having faced attempted kidnap and shootings, he now
regularly moves location and lives separately from his family for their
safety. With tears rolling down his face, he told how he sees his wife
and children only every few weeks, to get fresh clothes and money. <I’m
in a kind of trauma,> he told the Observer. <There is a group of us that
the UK government must help. I haven’t had a single night without
concern at home with my family.> Once, Abas was shot at while sitting in
a garden. On another occasion, a car pulled up and men with covered
faces got out and began to beat him. <They beat me around the head – my
body was full of blood,> he said. <I don’t know how they didn’t drag me
in the car – I think others helped me.> He has also had messages
threatening him for having worked with foreign media. <They said, ‘we
already have a decree to kill you’. I think I’m on the target list of
those people and maybe one day they will find me.> <Unfortunately, we
already are under very serious threats. We don’t want to wait until 2024
to get out. I have no sleep. Day by day, my sleep is reducing. Nowadays,
it’s two hours, three hours – nothing else. Another journalist in the
group, Bidar*, said he has effectively become a refugee as a result of
his connections with overseas media. Family members have been attacked.
He too believes he is on a Taliban hitlist.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/28/afghan-journalists-death-threats-uk-relocation-media-britain
The Guardian
May 26 2022
Supported by
guardian.org
By Zuhal Ahad
<<‘It’s a nightmare’: the mother and daughter ripped apart by the
Taliban.
In a picturesque Bavarian town, Nargis Orakzai is recalling the long
hours she spent at the Afghan finance ministry before she fled the
country last year and resettled in Germany. <I would go to the office
from 7am and often worked late. Then I would go to the university where
I was pursuing a master’s in business administration,> the 30-year-old
recalls. It was, she says, a hectic but satisfying life.
Then she describes how quickly that changed when the Taliban seized
control of the country last August, and echoes the words so many of her
peers use to describe the sudden and awful end to a life she loved. <I
still can’t believe that we lost everything we worked for in the last 20
years,> she says. <All our efforts, all the money we invested,
everything washed away.> Today, Orakzai spends most of her hours
learning the language of her adopted country. <I am grateful to be here,
and for the freedoms it offers,> she says. But she makes time each day
to call her mother back home in Kabul. <I talk to her for an hour each
day. If not, I would not be able to sleep at night.> Like millions who
fled Afghanistan, Orakzai has left behind family members she knows she
may never see again. More than 220,000 Afghans have sought asylum in
neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Iran since January 2021, and
more than 70% of them arrived after August 2021, according to the UNHCR,
the UN refugee agency. While there are no official estimates for how
many of those who fled are women, the specific threat posed to
professional women, or those in education in Afghanistan, is likely to
have spurred an unusually high number of young women to flee.
Many others have relocated to Europe. As many as 700 of Afghanistan’s
female judges, lawmakers, journalists and lawyers are reported to have
arrived in Greece in the months after the Taliban took over. Germany
received nearly 9,000 asylum applications from Afghan women in the
period between August 2021 and April 2022, and took in 2,070 women,
according to government data. <In terms of people who cross borders, in
general, women would usually be in the minority because it’s extremely
risky to leave,> says Peter Kessler, of the UNHCR. <In neighbouring
countries, there are patrols and smugglers … the risk of violence is
high.< While there are no official estimates for how many of those who
fled are women, the specific threat posed to professional women, or
those in education in Afghanistan, is likely to have spurred an
unusually high number of young women to flee. Many others have relocated
to Europe. As many as 700 of Afghanistan’s female judges, lawmakers,
journalists and lawyers are reported to have arrived in Greece in the
months after the Taliban took over. Germany received nearly 9,000 asylum
applications from Afghan women in the period between August 2021 and
April 2022, and took in 2,070 women, according to government data. <In
terms of people who cross borders, in general, women would usually be in
the minority because it’s extremely risky to leave,> says Peter Kessler,
of the UNHCR. <In neighbouring countries, there are patrols and
smugglers … the risk of violence is high.> >>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/may/26/nightmare-the-mother-and-daughter-ripped-apart-by-the-taliban
IMAGE BURQA
Al Jazeera
May 24 2022
By Zuhal Ahad and Ruchi Kumar
<<Afghan female journalists defiant as Taliban restrictions grow.
Taliban decree ordering female news anchors to cover their faces on air
is the latest in a series of escalating restrictions.
Mahira* has become a familiar face on Afghan television, as viewers tune
in every night to watch her present the news. Even during the most
turbulent recent events, the 27-year-old journalist remained calm and
composed as she reported on the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. On
Saturday, Mahira appeared on screen, but her face was covered with a
black mask following a Taliban decree ordering female news anchors to
cover their faces while on air. <[Saturday] was one of the hardest days
of my life. They made us feel as if we had been buried alive,> Mahira
told Al Jazeera. <I felt like I am not a human. I feel like I have
committed a big crime which is why God made me a woman in Afghanistan,>
she told Al Jazeera, choking back tears. <Which law in the world
requires women to cover their faces on TV? Even in [other] Islamic
countries, female news anchors or presenters do not wear masks,> she
said, the anger evident in her voice. Sosan*, a 23-year-old TV
presenter, shared Mahira’s anger. She began working in the media in 2019
with hopes of following in the footsteps of the brave Afghan women
reporters she’d watched reporting from the length and breadth of the
country. <We had achieved so much, and had a robust free media, with
growing presence of women in every sector. But look where we are now… in
a country where I cannot even choose what to wear or what topics to
report on,” she told Al Jazeera, referring to an earlier decree of “11
rules for journalists> that required journalists to seek Taliban
approval before broadcasting reports. The Taliban’s edict, announced on
Thursday, is seen by many as the latest sign of escalating restrictions
on women’s freedoms and a return to the repressive rule of the Taliban’s
previous time in power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
....
<Women journalists on television are highly visible. Their continued
presence gave girls and women some small shred of reassurance, amid
deepening Taliban attacks on women’s rights, that some women were still
able to do their jobs, to hold important roles, to appear in public,>
Heather Barr, associate director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human
Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera. <By literally blocking these women from
being fully seen in public the Taliban has taken another major step
towards their apparent goal of erasing Afghan women entirely from public
life.> The Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice
did not respond to a request for comment by Al Jazeera.
‘I can’t quit’
A rise in gender-based discrimination under the Taliban has already
forced many women out of the Afghan media, according to recent reports.
A survey by the Afghan National Journalists’ Union, released in March,
found that 79 percent of Afghan women journalists said they had been
insulted and threatened under Taliban rule, including physical and
verbal threats and abuse by Taliban officials. Meanwhile, 60 percent of
Afghan women journalists surveyed said they lost their jobs since the
Taliban takeover in August. A survey by Reporters Without Borders, done
immediately after the Taliban takeover, found that fewer than 100 women
remained working in the media in Kabul. <Of the 510 women who used to
work for eight of the biggest media outlets and press groups, only 76
(including 39 journalists) are still currently working,> it noted,
warning that <women journalists are in the process of disappearing from
the capital>.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/24/afghan-female-journalists-defiant-as-taliban-restrictions-grow
Read also the embedded article <US envoy meets Taliban foreign minister,
raises women’s rights> here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/21/us-envoy-meets-taliban-diplomat-presses-womens-rights
The Guardian
May 24 2022
Supported by
guardian.org
By Zahra Joya
<<Male Afghan TV presenters mask up to support female colleagues after
Taliban decree.
Male TV presenters in Afghanistan are wearing face masks on screen to
show solidarity after the Taliban issued an order that all women on news
channels must cover their faces.
In a protest dubbed #FreeHerFace on social media, men on Tolo News wore
masks to mimic the effect of the face veil their female colleagues have
been forced to wear after a Taliban crackdown.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice
ordered all Afghan media outlets to use masks for female presenters. The
decision was final and there was no room for debate, it said. Sebghat
Sepehr presented the news wearing a mask shortly after the order was
made public. It follows a decree issued in early May that all women must
cover their faces in public and male relatives face fines or jail if
they do not adhere. Many women in cities such as Kabul, including TV
presenters, defied the order.
Lema Spesali, 27, a news anchor for 1TV in Kabul, told the Guardian she
was given the news of the Taliban’s latest decree on arrival at work on
Sunday morning. <Two Taliban members came to our office and said the
decision on compulsory masks for female anchors must be implemented. We
had an office meeting and had to accept the Taliban order, but decided
that male colleagues should also wear masks and stand by female
colleagues.> During nine months of Taliban rule the presenter has also
been forced to swap her favourite colourful clothes for long dresses,
and is disappointed and shocked by the latest blow. <I cannot breathe. I
cannot get oxygen,> she said. <We need to pronounce the words
accurately. It is very difficult to read the news with a mask.> A
29-year-old male anchor on a private television channel, who did not
want to be named due to security concerns, told the Guardian he and
other male colleagues had put on masks to work in the past two days.
When the Taliban order reached their office, he said, female colleagues
were clearly dispirited. <Performing while wearing a mask is very
annoying,> he said. <When I perform with a mask, I feel like someone has
grabbed me by the throat and I cannot speak.> He said he and his
colleagues will continue to protest until the Taliban reconsider their
decision.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/may/24/male-afghan-tv-presenters-mask-up-to-support-female-colleagues-after-taliban-decree
The Guardian
17 May 2022
By Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
<<Plight of Afghan judges in spotlight as court hears UK asylum
challenge. Three judicial reviews of Afghans who face 'real risk to
life' could force wholesale Home Office rethink.
Alleged inconsistencies in the way the UK Home Office and Foreign Office
process asylum applications from vulnerable judges in hiding in
Afghanistan are being challenged at the high court in London on Tuesday.
Three judicial reviews are being brought on behalf of a male judge and a
female judge who have had their applications for asylum rejected, and a
prominent female women’s rights activist. If successful, the Home Office
will be required to undertake a wholesale rethink of how it handles
cases. The reviews have been anonymised to protect the claimants from
persecution by the Taliban. A 45-strong network of mainly commercial UK
lawyers have been representing 28 Afghan judges applying for asylum. The
Afghans are just a small proportion of 800 or so judges who worked in
Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover last year, more than a quarter
of whom are female. They say inconsistencies on the part of the UK’s
approach are unreasonable, incoherent and arbitrary.
<It is quite extraordinary given that we filed these applications in
October, and started submitting evidence immediately afterwards, and it
is now May and these cases have not been decided,> said Sheena Buddhdev,
a partner at Eversheds Sutherland providing pro bono advice. <Some of
them [the judges] are in a very precarious position. These cases are
urgent.> Buddhdev said many judges were facing a direct threat because
of their connections to the UK. <All of them face a real risk to their
life due to the work they did to promote democracy and the rule of law,
something that was a formal UK government objective.> She added it had
been very hard to gather evidence and present claims, given that some
are in hiding and face language difficulties. In one of the complaints
being aired in court, the claimants say guidance for immigration staff
did not make provision for the fact that applicants could not make the
perilous journey to a UK visa application centre to provide biometric
information because no such centres exist in Afghanistan. The claimants
say they were advised by UK government officials to work around this by
not telling the truth on their application forms. Subsequently the Home
Office has advised claimants to amend their application to make it clear
they cannot provide the biometric information required, resulting in
further delays.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/17/afghan-judges-hoping-for-uk-asylum-not-treated-consistently-say-lawyers
ABC net
9 Jan 2022
<<Anger in Afghanistan as some women defy Taliban full burka order.
Some women in Afghanistan are resisting an order from the ruling Taliban
to wear the all-covering burka in public as rights continued to be
threatened in the country. The Taliban on Saturday announced the decree
from supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada that all women should where
the chadori — a head-to-toe cloak — because it is <traditional and
respectful>. It was a major blow to the rights of women in Afghanistan,
who for two decades had been living with relative freedom before the
Taliban takeover last August — when the US and other foreign forces,
including Australia, withdrew in the chaotic end to a 20-year war.
But not all Afghan women are wanting to obey the latest order.
Arooza, who asked to be referred to by that name for protection, said
she was furious, afraid and alert for Taliban on patrol as she and a
friend shopped on Sunday in Kabul's Macroyan neighbourhood.
The mathematics teacher was fearful her large shawl, wrapped tight
around her head and sweeping pale brown coat would not satisfy the order
because her face was visible. Arooza said the Taliban rulers were
driving Afghans to leave their country.
<Why should I stay here if they don't want to give us our human rights?
We are human,> she said.
In the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday, women wore the customary
conservative Muslim dress. Most wore a traditional hijab, consisting of
a headscarf and long robe or coat, but few covered their faces, as
directed by the Taliban leader a day earlier. Those wearing a burka, a
head-to-toe garment that covers the face and hides the eyes behind
netting, were in the minority.
Shabana is another Afghan woman furious with the order from the Taliban.
Wearing bright gold bangles beneath her flowing black coat, with her
hair hidden behind a black headscarf with sequins, she said the Taliban
were not interested in tradition. <Women in Afghanistan wear the hijab,
and many wear the burka, but this isn't about hijab, this is about the
Taliban wanting to make all women disappear,> she said. <This is about
the Taliban wanting to make us invisible.>
Obaidullah Baheer, a former lecturer at the American University in
Afghanistan said these decisions could have consequences for the ruling
Taliban.>>
Read more here:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-09/anger-in-afghanistan-as-women-defy-taliban-full-burka-order/101051378
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