Every time I post about Afghanistan, I remember how the 'radical' left treat Muslim issues like playthings, to be picked up when it suits them and dropped as soon as they can't make any political capital out of them.

(🤚Hi, Owen)

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵2

Every time I post about Afghanistan, I remember how nearly every time I post about Afghanistan, I will get a reply from an American saying the Republicans are just like the Taliban.

I always respond politely, saying this is about the actual Taliban in Afghanistan, and ask them what do they think about them.

I'm yet to receive a reply.

Not a single one.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵3

Every time I post about Afghanistan, my heart breaks as I realize I have no real news to post about. It's just an update about how the lives and rights of women and girls in Afghanistan are constantly decreasing, while at the same time international aid is constantly decreasing.

All this time, and it's just tumbleweeds rolling across the world stage.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵4

Every time I post about Afghanistan, it usually contains some uncomfortable truths, about all of us. Just because we don't want to hear it, doesn't make it any less true.

At this point, I really don't know what, if anything, we can do for women and girls in Afghanistan.

I only know it starts by remembering they still exist.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵5

Anyway, this is a rolling thread of news from and about Afghanistan and Afghan refugees.

First, some good news from the U.K. which may have got overlooked(we've been busy!).

U.K. government to expand Afghan resettlement scheme to include separated family members.

The new U.K. immigration minister Seema Malhotra said simply:

"The Afghans did right by us. It's time for us to do right by them"

She has no plans to remove any cartoon murals.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵6

ein.org.uk/news/afghan-familie…

"As aid budgets shrink, humanitarian workers and resources are stretched even further, and the punishment is felt most by women already suffering from persecution. The international community must instead empower us to help the millions of Afghan women still living in the country, keeping politics and humanitarian aid distinct and apart. Here at home, we are fighting to be heard."

Anonymous female Afghan aid worker.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵7

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

I live under the oppressive rule of the Taliban. That’s why I am urging the world to engage with them

People who have fled Afghanistan encourage the world to sever ties with the Taliban. That only harms those of us still here, says an anonymous female aid worker

^{Anonymous (The Guardian)}

"Not long after learning I was going to the Olympics, I kept thinking about the girls in Afghanistan. For me, I have always had to balance pursuing my dreams with the humanitarian situation in my country.
At the Olympics, I realised that I had to use that moment to raise awareness. The girls in Afghanistan are more important than my dreams. Honestly, they are more important than my life."

Manizha Talash,
Afghan Olympic Breakdancer.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵8

dazeddigital.com/fashion/artic…

‘Free Afghan Women’: B-girl Talash on taking her fight to the Olympic stage

Breakdancer Manizha Talash was disqualified for wearing wings emblazoned with a plea for ‘basic human rights’ – here, she tells Dazed about bringing the sport’s rule-breaking spirit to this year’s Games

^{Dazed Digital}

"I took my burqa and had it cut and sewn into wings in order to show that transformation and change can be possible, even in the most oppressive situations."

Manizha Talash,
Afghan,
Olympic Refugee Team Breakdancer,
(disqualified)

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵9

FREE AFGHAN WOMEN

Here's a detailed photo of Olympic Breakdancer Manizha Talash's cape that got her disqualified at the Olympics.

Here you can see what wasn't clear on the press photos. She has used a traditional Afghan burka, complete with mesh bar visor slit.

She's taken the symbol of women's oppression in Afghanistan, and turned it into wings.

And the slogan that says it all.

FREE AFGHAN WOMEN.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵10

"At least 1.4 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

We urge the international community to remain mobilized to obtain the unconditional reopening of schools and universities to Afghan girls and women."

Audrey Azoulay,
UNESCO Director-General.

#LetAfghanGirlsLearn
#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵11

rferl.org/a/afghanistan-girls-…

At Least 1.4 Million Afghan Girls Banned From Attending School Since Taliban Takeover, UNESCO Says

At least 1.4 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency, said on August 15.

^{RFE/RL's Radio Azadi (RFE/RL)}

1.4 Million girls in Afghanistan don't receive a secondary education. If that sounds like a big number and is hard to visualize, let's put it another way.

ZERO AFGHAN GIRLS ARE IN SCHOOL AFTER THE AGE OF 11.

That's the Taliban way. They stay at home and do the housework, until they are married and then they stay at home and do the housework.

What can they do?

Open Secret Underground Schools.

Ssssh!

#LetAfghanGirlsLearn
#FreeAfghanWomen

#12

bigissue.com/news/activism/afg…

How Afghan women and girls are defying the Taliban with secret schools: ‘We are not alone’

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 they have cracked down on women's rights. Now secret groups are striking back.

^{Hoda Javdani (Big Issue)}

What's that?

Secret underground schools for girls where teachers and students risk beatings and lashings and imprisonment if they're caught, just so they can receive the basics of an education?

Is this from The Handmaids Tale?

No. This is the actual reality of life in Afghanistan in 2024.

Some of the schools are paid for by the charity Ideas Beyond Borders. Info and donation opportunity in the link below.

#LetAfghanGirlsLearn
#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵13

ideasbeyondborders.org/program….

Underground Schools In Afghanistan

Defying the Taliban restrictions on women and girl’s education Help us fund underground schools in Afghanistan to ensure girls get the education they need. The Taliban’s seizure of powe…

^{Ideas Beyond Borders}

People say that the U.S. and U.K. intervention in Afghanistan was a colonialist attempt to impose western democracy, and the Taliban returned the country to it's natural state, tribal, warlike and backwards.

This misrepresents the wide range of views in Afghan society, ignores the history of struggle between modernizing and traditional Afghan politics, and Afghan women's decades long struggle for equal rights and representation.

Why would you say that?

I wonder.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵14

You might be surprised to know that women in Afghanistan first won the right to vote in 1919, a year after the U.K. and a year before the U.S.

Believe me when I say the women's rights movement in Afghanistan is not a new thing. They have been standing up for their rights in Afghanistan for decades, centuries even. It's a struggle that already existed, well before the Taliban or the U.S. and the U.K. got involved.

The struggle continues

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵15

ppr.lse.ac.uk/articles/10.3138…

The Rise and Fall of Women Rights in Afghanistan | LSE Public Policy Review

The LSE Public Policy Review is an open-access, refereed journal which is published quarterly. Each issue is thematic and concentrates on a key topic at the heart of current debates in public policy.

^{LSE Public Policy Review}

The history and politics of Afghanistan is complicated and often misunderstood. It's hard to agree upon.

This thread is concentrating on the current dire and overlooked state of women's basic human rights. And I'm sure we can all agree on that.

(you can ignore this post unless you get it sent as a reply from me. It doesn't mean I agree or disagree. It means we're wandering off topic. That's All.)

🧵16

#FreeAfghanWomen

This thread is focused on Afghan women and girl's rights, but I haven't forgotten about LGBT rights in Afghanistan (Spoiler: There are none)

I won't be mentioning it too much here, partly because it's not my area of expertise, but mostly because this thread is heavy going enough. LGBT rights in Afghanistan is a whole other level of harrowing. Someone please post about it.

Read this article and you'll see what I mean.

🧵17

#FreeAfghanWomen
#TransRightsAreHumanRights

8am.media/eng/under-the-taliba…

Under The Taliban Rule: Transgender Individuals Treated as Sexual Slaves - Hasht-e Subh

In the last two years, human rights organizations have repeatedly accused the Taliban of engaging in gender-based apartheid against girls and women in Afghanistan.

^{Moqim mehran (Hasht-e Subh)}

If you managed to read the whole of the article on the last post of this thread, you did well. I warned you, reading about LGBT rights is a whole other level of harrowing.

Let's move on to what is considered, almost, as light relief in Afghanistan. This week the Taliban are celebrating the 105th anniversary of Afghan Independence.

Are they having a laugh? Are they sure they really want us to remember events in 1919?

OK. We will. Next post.

🧵18

#FreeAfghanWomen

rferl.org/a/afghanistan-yaqoob…

Taliban-Led Government Celebrates 105th Anniversary Of Afghan Independence

Top officials of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan marked 105 years of of the country's independence on August 18 by demanding mutual respect from the international community.

^{RFE/RL's Radio Azadi (RFE/RL)}

The Taliban should celebrate Afghanistan Independence Day. The end of British colonial rule in 1919 is important.

It led to-

*End of mandatory hijab
*Full female participation in society
*Votes for women
*Female MPs
*Full education for girls.
*University education for women.
*Equal employment for women.

None of these rights for women are now available under Taliban rule in Afghanistan in 2024.

You don't mention this bit though, do you lads?

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵19

amnesty.org.uk/womens-rights-a…

Women in Afghanistan: The Back Story

Highlighting the history of women's rights in Afghanistan, the impact of the Taliban's takeover in the country & what the current situation looks like, including links to our recent in-depth reports.

^{www.amnesty.org.uk}

In terms of women's rights, The Taliban are the polar opposite to the modernising political forces that led Afghanistan to independence in 1919.

We know the Taliban leaders have wives, but do we see them ? Do we know their names?

Now let's look at Queen Soraya of Afghanistan 1919-1929. She was a pioneer. She brought about change. She wrote the book* on gender equality in Afghanistan.

(*technically a monthly magazine, but you get the idea.)

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵20

arabnews.com/node/1732666/amp

So, let's join the Taliban in their celebrations of Afghan Independence Day!

Here's to 105 years of women in public life in Afghanistan!

#FreeAfghanWomen
🧵21

1919 2024

I know. I thought that last post could have gone better too.

Who was the 'first lady' of Afghanistan in 1919?

That's easy, that was Queen Soraya. She was everywhere. She was belatedly on the cover of Time magazine woman of the year 1927.

Who is the 'first lady' of Afghanistan in 2024?

Hmm, well it's thought Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has two wives but nobody's really sure. They haven't made any public announcements and as for names and photos, forget it.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵22

"Even the sun came out today to greet the 20 female medical students that arrived in Scotland from Afghanistan, thanks to the efforts of Linda Norgrove Foundation and Scottish universities.

Through their forthcoming achievements, the girls will prove the Taliban ban on education very wrong."

Sabir Zazai,
Scottish Refugee Council.

#FreeAfghanWomen
#LetAfghanWomenLearn
#RefugeesWelcome

🧵24

thetimes.com/article/ae88e9c1-…

Here's a photograph that will brighten your day.

This is Scottish Refugee Council head Sabir Zazai, who came to the country as a refugee from Afghanistan in 1999.

He's standing in sunny Edinburgh, with some of the 20 refugee women from Afghanistan who have just arrived on visas to study medicine at Scottish universities.

If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.

#FreeAfghanWomen
#RefugeesWelcome
#Scotland

🧵25

The Afghan refugee women who arrived in Scotland today to study medicine were helped and funded by the Linda Norgrove Foundation.

Info and donation opportunity below.

#FreeAfghanWomen

#26

lindanorgrovefoundation.org/wh…

Where your money goes - The Linda Norgrove Foundation

How the Linda Norgrove Foundation spends your money in Afghanistan.

^{The Linda Norgrove Foundation}

Here is an account from last year by one of the Afghan medical students who arrived in Scotland today.

She and her classmates were in the sixth and final year of their medicine degrees when the Taliban returned. The university attempted to hold their last 3 exams in one day before they were closed down.

On that day, the Taliban were waiting for them at the university. They were stopped, surrounded, and taken away at gunpoint.

And still they don't give up.

🧵27

glasgowguardian.co.uk/2023/04/…

The female Afghan medical students hoping to study in Scotland - The Glasgow Guardian

The unedited account of life under the Taliban from a female Afghan medical student hoping to study at the University of Glasgow.

^{Glasgow Guardian Editors (Glasgow Guardian)}

"The Taliban have already murdered lawyers, activists, students, police and other women, as well as subjecting them to torture and abuse. Concerns that they will resume public stonings persist. But there are many other ways to take women’s lives.

Snatch away all hope and some will conclude that there is no way to go on."

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵28

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

The Guardian view on Afghanistan’s gender apartheid: don’t embolden the Taliban

Editorial: Women have been stripped of their freedom, dignity and livelihoods. The international community must heed their demands

^{Editorial (The Guardian)}

"In Afghanistan, with each generation, there will be fewer women with educational backgrounds enabling them to take up roles outside the home.
Afghanistan is losing more than its future health-care workers, with the concomitant risks to women and girls.
The Taliban’s institutionalized gender oppression is depriving Afghanistan of its future women engineers, journalists, lawyers, biologists, politicians and poets.”

Richard Bennett,
UN Special Rapporteur

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵29

"U.N. Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett has been banned from coming to Afghanistan. He was assigned to spread propaganda against Afghanistan. He is not someone we believe in."

Taliban spokesman.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵30
afintl.com/en/202408219084

UN Human Rights Rapporteur Banned From Entering Afghanistan, Announces Taliban

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, criticised Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Afghanistan, for his reports on severe human rights violations in the country.

^{Afghanistan International}

We are coming on to more serious stuff about men in Afghanistan, but compared to the restrictions on women and girls, the restrictions on men seem almost comical.

Did you know the Taliban have made it illegal for men to shave in Afghanistan? They're all forced to wear beards, and not the cool hipster kind either. No, it's got to be the full Mujahadeen.

If you're not hairy enough to grow a big enough beard, you're an Islamic failure and lose your job. Yes, really.

🧵31

msn.com/en-gb/news/world/talib…

It's hard not to laugh at the ludicrousness of the Taliban ordering men to have 'Islamic' beards. It's such a childish notion that it makes them look like cartoon villains.

Remember that men have been fined, beaten and arrested for having their beards trimmed too short. Men have been dismissed from their jobs simply because they can't grow a full enough beard, and barbers are no longer able to feed their children.

All over beards! Stupid's not the word.

🧵32

rferl.org/a/taliban-beatings-b…

Taliban's 'New' Governing Style Includes Beatings For Beard Shaving

Afghan men are transitioning to a new era of Taliban rule in which facial hair is back in fashion -- or else.

^{RFE/RL's Radio Azadi (RFE/RL)}

This thread is about Afghan women and girls rights, but where are the men in all this?

I know at least some of you are thinking all the men in Afghanistan are loving Taliban rule, cheering on the patriarchy as they delight in watching women go right back to medieval times.

You're wrong. Not completely wrong, but wrong. I'll keep saying it. If you want simple answers about Afghanistan, you won't find them here.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵33

I'll put this diplomatically. Afghan men are like all men. Fucking awful.

The worst are no worse than the worst ones you find in every country in the world. Take a good look around you.

There are also good men in Afghanistan. Take one of Afghan photographer Shah Marai's last posts on Twitter. In 2018, between the reports of the ever increasing suicide bombs in Kabul that would soon claim his life, he wrote simply:

Happy International Women's Day to all Strong Women.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵34

It may well come as a surprise to some of you to see an Afghan man celebrating strong women on International Women's Day in 2018.

It will be much less of a surprise to those of you who have seen my long thread on Afghan photographer Shah Marai, Democracy and Women's Rights in Afghanistan.

(Shameless self promotion in link below 👇)

#FreeAfghanWomen
#ShahMarai
#Afghanistan

🧵34

mastodonapp.uk/@ProjectFearles…

ProjectFearlessness

2023-07-23 07:38:12

This is a thread about photographer Shah Marai, democracy and women's rights in Afghanistan.

As the Taliban are trying to make everybody forget democracy and women's rights ever existed in Afghanistan, I will take every opportunity to remind everybody that democracy and women's rights in Afghanistan have a long history, and also share Shah Marai's photos. So it will be a long thread.

If you're short on time, after the next post you can hit the eject button before the slideshow begins, ok?

🧵1

Could the men in Afghanistan do more to help the plight of women in Afghanistan?

I am that stupid that I will ask this question, but I'm not that stupid that I think I can answer it.

What I will say is that, in the beginning, plenty of them tried.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵35

rferl.org/a/afghanistan-taliba…

'Teach Everyone Or No One': Afghan Men Join In Protests Against Taliban's Ban On Women's Education

Hundreds of Afghan men are publicly voicing their opposition to the Taliban's decision to ban women from universities.

^{RFE/RL's Radio Azadi (RFE/RL)}

No Afghan man fought harder for Afghan women's rights than Ismail Mashal.

He went live on Afghan television and ripped up all his educational diplomas, saying they were worthless in Afghanistan if women couldn't get them too.

He closed his university, saying if women can't receive an education, nobody can.

He took to the streets of Kabul with a cart full of his own book collection, handing them out to every woman and girl he could find.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵36

amu.tv/34520/

Lecturer makes mobile library to advocate for girls’ education | Amu TV

Mashal says he has a library of 21,000 books and will give them to the women and girls who are affected by the Taliban’s ban

^{Amu TV (تلویزیون آمو)}

While handing out his own collection of books to women on the streets of Kabul, Ismail Mashal was arrested, beaten and imprisoned by the Taliban in January 2023.

He left prison in March 2023. His colleague Farhad Farzli said:

"Ismail is fine and in good health. However, he is not in a condition to talk at the moment."

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵37

dw.com/en/taliban-detains-afgh…

Taliban detains Afghan women's education rights activist

Ismail Mashalm, the man who tore up his academic records on television to protest the ban on the education of women and girls, was detained for "provocative actions."

^{Deutsche Welle}

Ismail Mashal has been in no condition to talk publically ever since his release from jail in Afghanistan in March 2023.

There were reports that he was hospitalised with physical and mental health problems about a month after he left prison. I'm still searching for any updates.

What did the Taliban do to him?

#IsmailMashal
#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵37

afintl.com/en/202304282992

Afghan University Professor Hospitalised After His Release From Taliban Prison

Ismail Mashal, a university professor, has been hospitalised after being released from a Taliban prison. Relatives of Mashal told Afghanistan International that he is currently "vomiting blood and has mental health issues”.

^{Afghanistan International}

Ismail Mashal's treatment by the Taliban for standing up for women's rights in Afghanistan is an extreme but also fairly typical example of the men who have tried to stand up for women against the Taliban.

I could show you more cases like Ismail Mashal's, but they always go the same way. Men who stand up for women's rights in Afghanistan are dealt with even more harshly than the women as they are seen as even more of a threat to the Taliban's rule.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵38

So, to answer the question about whether men could do more to fight for women's rights in Afghanistan, first you have to answer some other questions.

What, exactly, do you want them to do?

What, exactly, would you do?

I keep telling you. If you want simple answers about Afghanistan, you won't find them here.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵39

There is only one thing that is very simple in Afghanistan. The Taliban's ideology is so far removed from Islam that it's not Islam they are preaching. It's something else entirely.

The Taliban's treatment of women and girls has even united all 57 varieties of the Muslim countries that make up the Organization of Islamic Cooperation . They say it very clearly. It goes against all Islamic values.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵40

arabnews.com/node/2265201/worl…

"The Taliban uses Islam as a justification for their treatment of women."

“All countries within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation are unanimous that this has nothing to with Islam, that this is alien to the concept of Islam, and the first word of the Holy Qur’an is ‘Read'.

We continue to press the interim government in Afghanistan to live up to their promises and grant women their right to education."

Bhutto Zardari,
Pakistan Foreign Minister.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵41

This seems a good time to make something crystal clear.

If I am criticising the Taliban, I am criticising the Taliban.

This has nothing to do with Islam.

There's a zero tolerance policy on Islamophobia here. Don't even think about replying with your tropes and thinly veiled comments. I can spot you all a mile off.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵42

In Afghanistan, the Taliban's new decrees on the 'promotion of virtue' are silencing women's voices.

IT'S NOT A METAPHOR!

It's the new law. Literally. As in literally.
Women's voices are no longer allowed to be heard in public.

"A woman’s voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public."

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵43

apnews.com/article/afghanistan…

Afghanistan: Taliban bans women’s voices, bare faces in public under new law 

The Taliban say it's mandatory for Afghan women to conceal their voices and bare faces in public. That's according to newly published laws covering aspects of everyday life from the Ministry of Vice and Virtue.

^{AP News}

Taliban Vice and Virtue Laws

"It is mandatory for a woman to veil her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others.
Women should veil themselves in front of all male strangers to avoid being corrupted. A woman’s voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public.

It is forbidden for women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa."

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵44

"Courageous Afghan girls are stepping up to demand an end to the Taliban’s gender discrimination.

Underground schools, local home schooling, and remote learning are all playing their part in ensuring schooling can continue. In 2023, Education Cannot Wait’s investments in Afghanistan reached nearly 200,000 girls and boys through community-based education programmes."

Gordon Brown

#AfghanGirlsVoices
#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵45

scotsman.com/news/opinion/colu…

Gordon Brown: Scottish initiative must be start of a worldwide effort to end worst violation of girls’ rights

The international community can and must do more to pressure the Taliban leadership

^{Gordon Brown (The Scotsman)}

"Addressing the ongoing ban on women's education in Afghanistan, the Taliban stated that those lacking religious authority should refrain from positioning themselves as scholars on the matter. "We have demonstrated that our decrees are in full accordance with Islam and Sharia law," the minister declared. He further emphasised that the Taliban's policies on women's education are not in conflict with "Islamic laws and Afghan traditions."

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵46

afintl.com/en/202408253012

Women's Education Questions Off-Limits, Says Taliban Minister

The Taliban's Minister of Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, has implied that questions regarding women's education, like the education itself, are "suspended until further notice."

^{Afghanistan International}

Did you know the first university in the world was founded by a Muslim woman?

Of course you didn’t.

#AfghanGirlsVoices
#LetAfghanGirlsLearn
#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵46

qarawiyyinproject.co/2022/01/3…

Women and Education in the Historical Muslim World

Ayah Aboelela “Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim”. This narration from the Prophet ﷺ is one of dozens of hadiths that emphasize the value of education in Islam. It is no wo…

^{The Qarawiyyin Project}

Taliban fantasy collides with reality.
Again

The Taliban are getting really busy spouting loads of dangerous nonsense while abandoning their promise to reopen girls schools. They are now even challenging people to prove women's education is compatible with Islam.

They seem to have forgotten that the world's oldest university was founded by a Muslim woman in the 9th century.

Lads, what are you doing? This is not Islam.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵47

eurasiareview.com/31122017-fat…

Fatima Al-Fihri: The Lady Who Founded World’s First University – OpEd

Did you know the first university in the world was founded by a Muslim woman? Of course you didn’t. In recent years, on account of sustained negative stereotyping across the world media, the phrase...

^{Eurasia Review}

A word of caution about Fatimah Al-Fihriyyah, the Muslim woman who built the world's first university. The story is 1200 years old and the truth is lost in history.

There's no hard evidence to say she built the university. There's no hard evidence to say she didn't build the university, and no hard evidence to say who built the university if it wasn't her.

With no evidence, some historians keep an open mind. Others seem very keen to dismiss the possibility it could be true.

I wonder why.

🧵48

More details of last weeks 'Vice and Virtue' laws from the Taliban are emerging.

They have banned all women in Afghanistan from laughing, either in public, or anywhere a man might be able to hear them.

Don't Laugh.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵50

gzeromedia.com/news/watching/u…

UN: Taliban criminalizes sights and sounds of women

On Sunday, the United Nations condemned new laws enacted by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue that prohibit the display of women’s faces and bodies in public and said that “even the sound of a female voice” outside the home constitutes “a mor…

^{Tasha Kheiriddin (GZERO Media)}

"I believe this is a continuation of the Taliban's intimidation and oppression of women - from the way we're dressed to how we appear in public, how we talk, how we even laugh. It says that women shouldn't laugh very loud, and the laugh of women should not be heard by a man, which is extremely horrifying to actually see that this is actually codified in law."

Azadah Raz Mohammad,
Afghan Legal Advisor,
Atlantic Council.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵51

npr.org/2024/08/24/nx-s1-50875….

In Afghanistan, the new 'Vice and Virtue' laws against women are seen as a sign that the Taliban are feeling increasingly bold after they were allowed to go to a U.N. meeting on the condition that women's rights weren't discussed and no representatives for Afghan women were allowed to attend.

They think they can get away with it because they are getting away with it. The international community are letting them get away with it.

#FreeAfghanWomen

🧵52

theguardian.com/global-develop…

Shutting Afghan women out of key UN conference to appease Taliban ‘a betrayal’

Group allegedly demanding Afghan participation in Doha meeting this month be limited to men and that women’s rights be excluded from the agenda

^{Tom Levitt (The Guardian)}