She risked almost everything for women’s rights in Afghanistan. Now she could lose it all

Koofi, a peace negotiator and previous Afghan MP, has survived numerous assassination attempts for the duration of her occupation, together with just one final calendar year, as she fights for peace and women’s rights. Now she fears that work will be unravelled. 

She spoke to As It Happens visitor host Nil Köksal from Kabul, in which she has been browsing the makeshift camps popping up all more than the metropolis as persons flee violence in the north. Right here is part of their discussion.

You have been just at a camp, as I understand it. What are you viewing there?

A lot of households experienced to go away their villages and their communities, and they ended up in search of a safer location. They basically came to Kabul in the last couple days. They were being in the parks, in the streets. They have been generally all over Kabul with their family members, young women, boys, women of all ages that were being definitely not properly, some of them just shipped babies. So [a] incredibly, really chaotic problem. Persons in determined require of support.

You can find no a person to assist them, it seems like.

The authorities, with the guidance of some private sectors, now started to transfer them to some properties, which are under building or incomplete structures, which do not even have … cleanliness amenities or water.

But most of them are however in the parks … and in the road. They generally sleep in the parks. There [are] no tents, no absolutely nothing.

It’s a extremely terrible problem, however, and it tends to make it difficult for absolutely everyone, specially for ladies and girls. Mainly because can you think about if a girl does not have a location to use as a washroom for the complete day? And then in the night she waits to go, it gets to be darker, and then she goes out, you know, just someplace.

Some of these girls have distinctive desires. They need unique factors. They have been in a position to share people unique wants with me. They have nothing. They are psychologically affected, horrified, [and they] remaining their homes in the midst of war. Their homes ended up ruined by rocket launches, by battling.

You explained in the spring that the U.S. troop withdrawal is a ethical defeat for that country. What is it for Afghanistan? Is this your worst panic realized?

We all know that their premature announcement for withdrawal nicely just before a political offer was agreed on set Afghanistan in chaos. A ton of sites in fact [fell into] the arms of Taliban, not since the Taliban had been potent, [but] in quite a few places mainly because the governing administration was weak, since there was corruption, deficiency of leadership [and] folks had been not happy.

Contacts from throughout Afghanistan convey to me that the war has in fact taken almost everything from men and women. And in some areas the Taliban controls, women’s legal rights are seriously violated. I have been obtaining reports of forced marriages in some areas. The shopkeepers or the community merchants, they you should not dare to go open their stores. There are experiences that their wealth and shops are looted.

I am incredibly disappointed with what is actually taking place. We’re all very upset, particularly the women of all ages of Afghanistan.

What can be done at this position?

The worldwide neighborhood could nonetheless use their political leverage. The United Nations Security Council, the U.S., which has signed a deal with the Taliban, the regional nations around the world, could basically stop Taliban from using around militarily in the point out, pace up the peace negotiation and agree on a political electrical power-sharing [deal].

As the Taliban keeps advancing, it seems finding closer to Kabul. What would materialize, do you assume, if the Taliban normally takes about there?

What I know is that people today are pretty considerably worried mainly because in a military predicament, it is the folks that are so defenceless and so helpless. 

If it was for a tranquil demonstration, if it was for the elections, then we would motivate individuals to use their democratic rights to protest, to actively take part in politics. But when people today talk up and they are killed, there is nobody that can do anything. 

I’m sorry I received psychological, but I sense so powerless in this circumstance due to the fact I was usually with individuals. Persons revered me. I was supporting them. Now to see them in this awful situation, and I you should not know what will happen to me, and I will not know what will occur to other women’s legal rights activists, to other ladies who are in Kabul.

The promise of all the global involvement in Afghanistan more than the many years was to make it better for the Afghan people. And with all because of respect to the countries and the troopers who spent so a great deal time there, and lots of perhaps had the ideal intentions, but quite a few, I consider it really is risk-free to say, are wanting to know what was the point? What has been left for the people today of Afghanistan now? And I marvel how you sense?

I know that there were a lot of pals and companions [in the] worldwide group that assisted us in the previous 20 years, labored aspect-by-side in ensuring that girls get to college, women get to do the job, Afghanistan institutions are strong [and] democracy performs. We don’t forget all those nations with excellent intentions, and we do recognize them.

But I have to also say that a great deal of girls of Afghanistan and people today of Afghanistan in general are extremely unhappy with what took place in phrases of their strategic partnership with the United States, mainly because it gets even worse for gals. 

In the previous 20 years, we in fact have been very vocal in defending the values of democracy, in speaking about our rights and demanding far more liberties. We had been in the forefront of all of that. Now to be left by itself by the very same partners with whom we worked, with whom we truly campaigned to market their bring about, their cause of democracy, which is for the fascination of Afghanistan, our typical lead to to defeat army extremism — now, to see the similar countries really do not even care anymore? It is extremely unpleasant.

Supplied the threat of speaking out, as you just reported, and provided the truth that you, on your own, were being shot, how are you staying protected whilst still making an attempt to struggle?

I’m in Kabul with my two daughters … because I just experience that my getting in Kabul will assistance … keep the morale high.

So I will keep on to stay in Afghanistan for as lengthy as I can. But in the meantime, I really don’t know what will take place tomorrow to me, since B-52 airplanes and rockets, the superpowers, NATO, nobody basically were being capable to defeat Taliban. Taliban are not fearful of them. But they are afraid of the women of all ages.

A whole lot of women of all ages like me are in Afghanistan, my sisters … [who] shared their excellent moments with me. I should really really be with them in these undesirable situations. 

Created by Sheena Goodyear with documents from The Related Press. Job interview made by Sarah Cooper. Q&A has been edited for size and clarity.