LETTER FROM THE RAJA-DANIÈLE MARCOVICI FOUNDATION – AFGHAN SPECIAL – SEPTEMBER 2021

Dear Customers,

on the occasion of the upcoming 15th anniversary RAJA-Danièle Marcovici Foundation it is time to take stock of our actions, to look at the progress we have made and what we still need to do to enable the emancipation of women in France and in the world.

Recent events in Afghanistan have made this phrase by Simone de Beauvoir relevant once again: ‘It only takes a political, economic or religious crisis to challenge women’s rights’. At a time when society has its eyes fixed on Afghanistan and the fate of its people, history shows us that a future that does not respect the rights and freedoms of women around the world is not acceptable to us.

More than ever, the struggle we have been waging for 15 years makes sense. The progress made on the rights of Afghan women over the last two decades is being challenged. The right to live without violence and to dispose of their bodies; the right of girls to go to school and of young women to go to university; the right to work, to earn money, to be independent. The threat to these freedoms teaches us that women’s hard-won rights are still fragile and that we must act to protect them at all costs.

The Foundation intends to actively participate through awareness campaigns in support of Afghan women and associations(AFGHANISTAN LIBRE) whose projects take place on the ground in Afghanistan, so that the struggle for equality and the rights of women and girls can continue. Daniele Kapel-Marcovici

Daniele Kapel-Marcovici

Chairwoman of the RAJA Foundation-Danièle Marcovici and CEO of the RAJA Group

Sophie Pouget

RAJA Foundation CEO-Danièle Marcovici

AFGHANISTAN: AN OVERVIEW OF THE SITUATION

The world has been following the political situation in Afghanistan for several weeks.On 15 August, the Taliban, fundamentalist Islamists united in military, political and religious organisation, regained power in the country after 20 years of conflict by seizing the capital Kabul. Since then, most activities in the country have been suspended, accompanied by heartbreaking images of people trying to flee the country and new measures taken by the Taliban to establish its authority. Women’s rights are thus once again under threat.

Current situation:

• From 16 to 17 August, tens of thousands of Afghans rushed to Kabul airport in an attempt to flee the country. Security forces used tear gas and opened fire on the crowd with live ammunition.
• Afghan media have suspended their activities or drastically reduced the content they offer in order not to provoke the Taliban.
• On August 19, the Taliban announced the creation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
• According to Reuters, more than 115 000 people were evacuated from the country between 14 August and 30 August.
• On 31 August, following the departure of the last US forces, the Taliban regained control of the airport.

FACING THE TALIBAN

Since August 2021, Afghan women have been demonstrating for their freedoms and rights. They want to preserve what they have gained. Rights that took 20 years to gain and for which they want to fight. They fear that they will be excluded from public life as they were under the previous Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001.

Whether in Kabul, Herat or in the provinces of Kapisa, Takhar or Badakhshan, the Taliban have fired on demonstrators and women’s rights activists have been arrested along with journalists.

Following these events, the new regime in Kabul decided on 8 September to ban unauthorised gatherings.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN?

When the Taliban came to power between 1996 and 2001, this period was marked by the disappearance of women from the public sphere. As the issue was expected to come to the fore again, the Islamists issued a series of statements on 15 August in an attempt to reassure the international community and thereby secure the restoration of the economic aid on which the country depends.

EDUCATION

On September 5, the Taliban Ministry of Education announced the distribution of students based on their gender. Small mixed classes are allowed, but women are separated from men by a curtain. In addition, all female students and teachers must wear a hijab (a veil that covers the hair but not the face). According to US CNN, universities will have to provide female teachers for girls. When asked about these changes, female students expressed relief that they were allowed to continue their studies, as they feared they would not be able to return to university.

WOMEN JOURNALISTS

Although the Taliban announced that press freedom would be respected and that women journalists could continue to work, Afghan women working in the media and press quickly disappeared. Journalist Hasiba Atakpal and presenter Beheshta Arghand, who were interviewed by a Taliban spokesperson on 17 August, both left the country shortly afterwards. On 19 August, two female journalists from Radio Television Afghanistan claimed that the Taliban prevented them from returning to work by not allowing them into their offices, unlike their male colleagues. According to Reporters Without Borders, as of 1 September, only 76 women out of 510 employed by Afghanistan’s largest media and news groups were still in post.

SPORT

The head of the Taliban’s cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, announced on 8 September that women would be banned from playing sports, mainly for wearing clothes that do not comply with the laws of the Islamic Emirate. The Taliban added that women would be allowed to go out to fulfill their basic needs, but sport was not considered a necessity. Several members of the Afghan cricket team told the BBC that the Taliban had targeted female players and threatened them if they tried to play again.