LOOKING BACK: WHAT WE ACHIEVED WITH BACK TO LIFE AFGHANISTAN

Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, girls and women in Afghanistan systematically had their rights taken away. For nearly four years, they have been banned from attending secondary schools, universities, or vocational institutions after the sixth grade – with the exception of religious institutions, where they are monitored and indoctrinated. Women have also been excluded from most professions. At the same time, sexualized violence and forced marriages – especially involving young girls – continue to rise.

Starting in April 2023, HÁWAR.help’s BACK TO LIFE Afghanistan project supported a partner organization in Kabul, which operates three shelters for women and their children. The shelters offer protection from sexualized violence and forced marriage. Women and their children receive comprehensive support, including food, medical care, psychotherapeutic assistance, and legal counseling. In addition, the women have access to courses in handicrafts, art therapy, sewing, cooking, and sports. The children can attend an on-site kindergarten, where they learn to read and write. The goal: to provide women and children from various provinces of Afghanistan with protection, education, and support – despite the repressive circumstances.

The psychological support consisted of counseling services, individual consultation sessions, group therapy sessions, as well as creative formats. Legal advice included assistance in court, particularly in the areas of family law, rights within marriage, and cases involving “domestic escape,” “moral corruption,” divorce, extramarital relationships, and false accusations. In many cases, concrete solutions were achieved through mediation and support in court.

However important this assistance is in individual cases, the structural disenfranchisement and marginalization of women and girls in Afghanistan must no longer be tolerated internationally. We demand immediate political and legal consequences to put pressure on the Taliban regime and to protect universal human rights in Afghanistan. The global community must no longer turn a blind eye!

Many thanks to the German Federal Foreign Office for supporting our work in and around Afghanistan. We will continue to advocate for the rights and visibility of girls and women in Afghanistan!