Over the past 20 years, Afghanistan has given birth to a generation of women who grew up in freedom and believed in opportunities for all. On August 15th 2021, the Taliban completed their takeover of Afghanistan by seizing the capital city of Kabul. With that, two decades of progress vanished overnight and the hard-fought advances in women’s rights are now in jeopardy. Hundreds of thousands of people are trying to flee the country and its unfolding humanitarian crisis. In response, HÁWAR.help and its partners launched the initiative Defend Afghan Women’s Rights and raised over 160.000€ for afghan women’s organisations providing urgent humanitarian relief on the ground. However, the situation remains critical and media reporting has decreased over the past weeks. This is what we want to change with #AfghanistanWeSeeYou.
The history of repression of women and minorities under Taliban rule has caused rampant fear among Afghan women and human rights advocates around the world. Bans on employment, education, and even on leaving the house without a male relative, have become a bitter reality for the more than 19 million women living in the country. In addition, half of the Afghan population, around 18 million people, is dependent on humanitarian assistance. Some 3.5 million Afghans are internally displaced, while almost as many have fled to neighboring countries or the region at large. The struggling economy has deteriorated further since the Taliban came to power. Many people who used to be able to provide for themselves have lost their work, resulting in them and their families becoming dependent on assistance. At the same time, a severe drought is decimating the harvest yields.
#AfghanistanWeSeeYou is supported by the following partners: