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| Afghanistan |
| How Afghan women live under the Taliban |
| 2021-10-03 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. By Alexander Kots [KP] In the first couple of weeks after the capture of Kabul, the Taliban * proclaimed a tolerant attitude towards women Kabul neckline 23-year-old Mushgan Ahmadi , dressed in a strict Islamic suit, puts a chic dress with bold, by local standards, bare shoulders and a truly brave neckline against a slender figure hiding under baggy clothes. "This is my favorite," she smiles dreamily. "This is a dress of a bridesmaid, I would very much like to wear it to a wedding someday." We are standing in the middle of a small showroom that simply splashes with fashionable luxury. Wedding dresses with rhinestones, cocktail dresses, embroidered with shiny stones, strict business, but with "bare" elements that clearly do not correspond to the strict Sharia norms that have recently been in effect in this country. Mushgan was born during the first reign of the Taliban and, of course, does not remember its order, she grew up already "under the Americans," as they say here. "I went to school, graduated from the Agricultural University, and created my own business from scratch." A young businesswoman was the only breadwinner in the family The opportunity to learn and realize oneself for people like her is a given, not a won right. The more painful is the collision with the new reality. But the girl with all her appearance is trying to show that she is able to take a blow. From the showroom he takes me to a photo studio: "Here we dressed the models in new dresses and took photographs for advertising and promotion in social networks." We pass through a small garden with dense rose bushes to the third room -- a video studio -- where Mushgan realized her creative ambitions as part of a Youtube project: "It is about the history of our country, culture, memorable places, and Afghan poets. We are recording this all for future generations. Shooting on the spot is, of course, difficult. But we have a lot of history books and we put different stories on top of the footage we find on the internet." The young businesswoman was the only breadwinner in the family. Now there are no sources of income. "We have our own factory where we sew women's outfits. But now, we closed it, took the machines home, and we had to sell some of them." - More Western style, who bought these dresses? "In fact, before such dresses were imported here from different countries. We decided we could do the same here on the spot. Women love this cut and have bought from us. And there were even orders from Europe." Banned gifts By the way, Kabul can be called a city of wedding salons. There are dozens of them, if not hundreds, and one is more luxurious than the other. Concrete and glass, with marble staircases, antique columns. "We fell in love here at weddings during our American presence. But, for example, in the province of Kapisa, the new authorities banned celebrating the wedding after it was held, giving gifts to the young (the groom can give the bride gold) and serving something other than rice, bread and gorme - dishes made from lamb meat, herbs , beans and spinach. Moderation should be in everything, even in celebrations." - How long have you been in business? - I ask the girl. "When I graduated from the university, I thought about my financial future. I started three years ago, and it went well. Parents were not against it, we have an enlightened family, they know about the rights of women. And they supported me. I worked part-time while I was studying, saved up a small amount. I have a partner who also invested. At the initial stage, we had only two sellers. Before the arrival of the Taliban, the company already employed 30 employees. 20 people were engaged in sales, the rest - in production. Now they are at home without work. The Taliban told us to close, but it sounded like temporary. They say there will be an announcement about new rules for women, but they have not yet been announced." - And what is left of the working person from your business? "Historical studio only. And the remaining dresses in the showroom." - Can I leave Afghanistan and work as a designer in another country? "I have done many projects to show my country abroad. If the opportunity arises, I'm ready. But not forever. I want to stay here with other women." "Projects" are all kinds of programs that the West has been promoting in Afghanistan for two decades through various non-profit and non-governmental organizations. Women's rights have been a central case in which billions have been spent. Feminist studies at Kabul University, campaigns to eradicate male stereotypes, aid funds ... Part of the funds, of course, was shamelessly plundered, but some money still worked to make the Afghan woman finally feel like a human being. Who knew that only for a while. We were happy with the Americans Fazila Azizi has worked at the Ministry of Industry and Trade for over 25 years. since the time of Najibula. With a break for the Taliban "first coming" from 1996 to 2001. "We were just getting used to wearing hijabs," she recalls. "We were forbidden to go out into the street without a man's escort. We could not travel to any other province or outside of Afghanistan. You can't remember everything, but life was hard. The men had no jobs, and we tried to do something at home to get money for food. And it was a serious challenge for almost every family at the time." - And then the Americans came ... "We were happy. Because they were finally able to go to work, start improving their lives, improve their education - I finally graduated with a bachelor's degree. The country was gradually moving from a closed economy to a market economy, and I was involved in planning as well as helping women entrepreneurs. Many countries helped us, including Russia, which sent here various goods as humanitarian aid. There were government programs for the poor - in specialty stores, essential products were sold much cheaper than in regular supermarkets." Fazilya admits: “We are all deeply depressed. Both women and men " Fazili's "women's" department has worked with such giants of American "soft power" as USAID. Support was provided by similar NGOs in the European Union. Planning modern life, developing your own economic strategy, entering the domestic and international markets with your ideas. Finance, branding, office rental. Businesswomen appeared in almost all sectors of the economy - handicrafts, jewelry, agricultural business, dried fruits, carpets, leather ... Mushgan Ahmadi, apparently, also went through this school of independent female life, I thought. And asked: - And how did men feel about these metamorphoses? "I felt the daily risk coming from men. Even from those with whom we worked. Many people directly told me: 'Stop supporting women.' Our society is built in such a way that men do not like it when women become independent and improve their abilities. You don't have to be a Taliban member to do this. - But with his arrival it became even more difficult? "They announced that we would stay at home and not go to work until they tell us that it is possible. I, of course, continue to help women - both by phone and by e-mail, and in person, if they ask for advice. What will happen to business licenses, how now to arrange the export of dried fruits to India, many now do not have the means to pay their employees, because there are no orders for their goods. While the new authorities promised to pay something to the state employees, the private sector was almost entirely without profit. But many have families, children. And, as a rule, everyone had a family business, there are simply no other sources of income. No money, no plans, no confidence in the future - what kind of life is this?" The "thaw" has passed And then there are new 'orders.' In different provinces of the country, women are forbidden to walk in heels (so as not to "excite men in public places"), act in films, play sports, get higher education, teach in universities, have a smartphone with a camera (so as not to take a selfie and not call effect, like heels), use cosmetics (the reason is the same). The central authorities lazily brush aside the authorship of these innovations. Say, this is not the position of the official government, but excesses on the ground. Convenient position. In all fairness, new exotic taboos are being imposed on men as well. Banned "American hairstyles" and shaving beards. And even Taliban fighters have been ordered not to wear white sneakers (as part of an alien culture) and to take selfies (this harms the status 'obtained by the blood of martyrs'). But here, as they say, they did not live beautifully - there is nothing to start. But the fair sex, who just felt like that, is insulting to tears. It started out pretty well. In the first couple of weeks after the capture of Kabul, the Taliban proclaimed a tolerant attitude towards women. In the frame of local television channels, 80 percent of them are journalists. Two female reporters (unprecedented!) Interview Taliban leader Mullah Baradar. This is the thaw! Almost a month later, not a trace of the 'new Taliban ethics' remained. "We thought they had really changed in 20 years," admits Afghan national television journalist Shinkai Furzai. We meet at the office of a small radio station located in the usual entrance of a residential building, where the door of each apartment on the site is fenced off with a square of massive iron lattice from floor to ceiling. "We decided that we would be allowed to work," Shinkai continues. "But in reality, when I presented my ID to the new Taliban guards, they sent me home, saying that they would additionally announce when I could come to work. And this has happened to all women in the media. Most of them are now trying to leave the country. There is no hope for the future." - You yourself did not think to leave? "I love journalism, I also lectured at the university. I had the hope that I would be useful to the female students. She was going to defend her master's degree, but now everything has changed. Three months ago, Canada announced that those who want to leave Afghanistan can apply to the embassy with a corresponding statement. My friends advised me to do it, but then I refused. And now I already want to leave Afghanistan." Ideology versus money I remembered that I had just passed the Iranian embassy. There are two huge queues at its massive walls: a man's and a woman's. The second is longer. Those wishing to fly away continue to hammer the thresholds of diplomatic missions, which still issue visas. At least transit. Maybe among those women were former Shinkai colleagues. She has been working in television for over 20 years. She covered the international agenda, and also led her own program dedicated, as you might guess, to women's rights. "I went to special courses in Germany, where we were taught to cover such topics. She made stories from women's prisons, a report on places of detention of women who were left without housing. We had a lot of girls - photographers, technical staff, lighting, cameramen, sound engineers, editors ... There was a special organization 'Aina,' which trained girls in various journalistic directions using Western grants. I also underwent training there. One could come there right after school, get a profession and get a job." - Did you have any problems during your work? "From the side of the government - no. But they arose in the provinces. Afghan society is very traditional and religious. When you drive around the outback and make stories about the life of women, you face opposition. They were not allowed to film, they were forbidden to interview." - It turns out that Afghans in Kabul felt freer than in other provinces? "You could say that. There are more well-educated women here. Here they occupy a leading position in the family, and in the provinces they do not know about their rights." And this is perhaps the key point. Fenced off by military bases, concrete fences and green zones, the American comrades carried out their tasks and, for the most part, guarded themselves. But to justify their presence, they built a screen for building a new society - free and happy. In some cities it worked at the very least. At the very least, the reports on the utilization of funds allocated to promoting gender equality must have been convincing. And the patriarchal province, where it is not customary to consult with women, lived in its own archaic world, to which the ideology of the Taliban is much closer than Western values. She quietly despised urban fashionistas guarded by the American military, considering them to be snickering, crazy mankurt. And the speech here, of course, is not only about women's rights. Actually, at the ideological level, the United States lost long before the withdrawal. Unlike the Soviet Union, they could not oppose anything to the idea. It was thanks to her (no matter how you feel about the idea of ​​building socialism) that the Najibula regime, after the departure of a limited contingent, held out for another three years. But he was opposed not only by the Mujahideen, but by forces supported by the West. The Americans in Afghanistan were only able to offer money. Which the fugitive president Ghani eventually took out by helicopters. That is why the Taliban took entire provinces without a fight. It is no coincidence that now in different districts the same women, but dressed in deaf 'cloaks,' go out to rallies in support of the new government. However, my interlocutor Fazilya Azizi does not want to believe that this is not a regulation: "I saw these shots, they look like men there, and their faces are completely hidden. I don't think there were only women at these shows. Perhaps among them were the men who directed them. Nobody saw who it really was. Moreover, now it is not forbidden to wear a hijab with an open face. Unlike the first arrival of the Taliban." - It turns out that there are at least some positive changes. Fazilya laughs sadly. "At the same time, all our previous achievements - not only of women, but of Afghans in general - have become useless. Over the past 20 years, we have made a huge leap forward, the transport system, electricity, we had grandiose plans, today they are all frozen." - Do you have any grudge against the Western world, which introduced you to new opportunities and actually betrayed you, leaving you alone with those who will bury these opportunities? "Every night, when I go to bed, I think: 'We lost. Why did this happen to us. Every night I ... ', - unable to cope with emotions, the woman begins to cry. I hand her a packet of paper napkins. She wipes away her tears, inhales deeply several times and, having calmed down a little, confesses: "We are all deeply depressed. Both women and men." |
| Posted by:badanov |