15 August 2021 - The Taleban arrived in Kabul today, faster than anyone could have anticipated. Around noon, my phone started pinging with messages from terrified Afghan friends and colleagues trapped in Kabul:

“They in Kabul, right now. All people just running to reach home”.

“Taliban arrived to Kabul city gates”.

The Taleban conquered the capital in less than a day as government troops surrendered and internationals roll out massive efforts to evacuate their staff from embassies and international organisations. Supposedly, a “peaceful” transition government is being negotiated.

However, there is nothing “peaceful” about life under Taleban rule, especially for women, girls and those most vulnerable. Afghan women and girls will be paying the highest price for Afghanistan’s collapse.

“We are losing everything”

The situation is severe for everyone in Afghanistan, especially for women and girls, not to mention sexual and gender minorities and other marginalized groups.

The Taleban might now have smartphones and social media, but their views about women and women’s rights have not changed. A Taleban representative speaking to a BBC reporter calmly states that the regular punishment to be expected for adultery is death by stoning – 100 whiplashes in public will do if it is a case of sex before marriage.

Between 2013-2017 I lived in Kabul, working with the UN and different development projects focused on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Most of my Afghan friends and colleagues are still trapped in the capital, and some were evacuated there earlier this week from the provinces. A few have been lucky to obtain visas in Turkey or other countries, but the majority have had no options to leave.

They are, understandably, terrified of what is to come. Girls will not be able to go to school anymore and women cannot work, except perhaps as doctors and teachers if wearing burqas.

Manizha (name changed) wrote to me yesterday, before Kabul had collapsed:

“My heart is crying and there is no more tears in my eyes, we are losing everything, our hope and our life, quickly happening everything. Taleban are pushing us back and it makes me sad, deeply sad, like a torturing moment by moment.”

Manizha is part of the Hazara ethnic minority, with a history of persecution by the Taleban.

Another friend Tahera (name changed) is trying to find a way to escape, to anywhere. She is a widow living with five children in Kabul. Everyone is desperately looking for a way out but options are scarce. Most embassies have stopped issuing visas days ago, commercial flights are no longer available, and the Taleban control all land crossings by now. There is no cash in the ATMs.

Even with a promised “peaceful transition of power”, life as a woman, girl or a member of the LGBTQI+ community under the Taleban is far removed from being truly peaceful. According to reports about life in areas under Taleban control, there have been numerous reports of rapes and demands by Taleban forces to hand over girls aged 15 and over to forced marriages to Taleban troops.

Women are not allowed to leave their homes freely, unless unaccompanied by male relatives. Reportedly, the demand and prices for burqas in Kabul are hiking up as women’s fears have risen. According to reports from Kandahar, the Taleban recently entered a branch of Azizi bank and forced all women employees to go home.

My friends, especially those who have worked for the UN and with US-backed projects focused on women’s rights, are now terrified about what might happen to them.

“They (Taleban) will never accept women who worked for the UN,” Manizha says.

No way out

Last week the US and many other Western governments expanded their existing resettlement programmes for Afghans at risk, and some countries, including Finland, launched new programmes in efforts to evacuate Afghans whose work with internationals puts them at risk. However, for many, this is too little and too late. Governments need to speed up actions to evacuate those most at risk, especially women and people living in the most vulnerable situations.

On Friday, Canada announced its plans to resettle more than 20,000 vulnerable Afghans, including human rights defenders, women leaders, members of the LGBTQI+ community and reporters to protect them from Taleban reprisals.

Canada’s commitment is applaudable. However, the problem with many other existing international evacuation and resettlement efforts is that they often leave out many women and those most marginalized and at risk. Many of the personnel who worked for foreign embassies or the armed forces have often been men, working for example as drivers, chefs, logistics personnel and interpreters. Women, who were often more likely to work in the civil society sector and development aid programmes, are left without many options.

Internationals with ties to Afghanistan are trying their best to help Afghans in this desperate situation. Support groups on social media are actively exchanging information about visas, contact details and evacuation opportunities, as we are all trying to create some sense of order in this chaos and support in any way we can. But it is hard not to lose hope because there seems to be no concrete way out without a rapid change of course in Western governments’ humanitarian policies and funding allocations to this crisis.

Najib (name changed) summarised the feelings surfacing for many today:

“Why everything suddenly went wrong like this. Everything has been collapsed. The city is empty, and the people are looking hopeless.”

Those who worked with international organisations and the media are at critical risk and need immediate help through additional schemes such as the effort announced by the Government of Canada. But this is nowhere enough.

While it might be too little and too late, swift efforts and concrete actions are needed to save women and girls’ lives. International forces need to stay to keep the airspace open to allow commercial and evacuation flights, and countries need to open their borders for those wanting to leave. Governments need to increase support for nongovernmental groups inside and outside of Afghanistan promoting women’s rights, education, healthcare, and other vital needs.

With Kabul’s collapse, the international community can bid farewell to the progress achieved on women’s rights in the past two decades. But now it must do better and act swifter to offer protection to those in desperate need.

Sini Ramo

CEO/Founder, Global Equality Matters