Name: Sara
Region: Kabul Province
I have been working in the field of women’s rights for the past three years. Previously, I was a teacher. My eldest daughter was in the twelfth grade when the Taliban came to Afghanistan, and since then, schools have been closed to all Afghan girls. We are a progressive family, and I had hoped my daughter would continue her education. Before the Taliban’s rule, we never engaged our daughters or married them off before they completed their studies. Because of this, no one would propose to our daughters until they finished their education.
But recently, all kinds of people have come forward asking for my daughter’s hand in marriage, saying we should accept the proposal because schools and universities are now closed, and girls become depressed staying at home. This situation has deeply affected both me and my daughter and likely thousands of other girls as well.
I regularly participate in protests alongside other women activists. I work as a teacher in a public school and often speak out about the worsening economic and security conditions, especially those affecting women. A few days ago, I heard from a fellow teacher that the Taliban had arrested a woman whose husband was an officer in the former Republic government because she had participated in protests and similar activities. Her husband, believing that his wife’s arrest brought shame and dishonor upon him in the eyes of his community, took his own life.
I shared this story with my husband at home. He became deeply thoughtful and later said to me: ‘From now on, do not participate in protests, and do not complain about the Taliban or the current situation. Because if the Taliban ever arrest you, I will divorce you immediately and marry another woman.’
Now I find myself at a crossroads. On one side, there are the harsh economic conditions, unemployment, and the growing challenges faced by women. On the other, there are the increasing restrictions imposed daily by the Taliban on women and girls. And then there is my husband’s warning and prohibition, which I find unbearable. Today, many women have stopped working or fighting for their rights because of the Taliban’s influence on the mindset of men in their families, and due to the Taliban’s strict laws and threats directed at male family members. But I cannot stop, even though I am deeply afraid of the consequences especially for the future of my children.
