Witness 24 In-person Testimony

In the name of the Almighty , I am Fatima , a citizen of Afghanistan and a resident of Nangarhar province , and a former activist of the Women’s Rights and Human Rights Commission.

I wish to present my statement to you , including the honorable judges and attendees , from three perspectives.

1. Firstly, concerning the real danger to my life and my deprivation from work.
2. Secondly, the negative effects of my work on my family.
3. Thirdly, for the Pashtun women of the Eastern Zone, which I will discuss in detail later.

Since 2018, I have served in the Independent Human Rights Commission, Jalalabad Field Office. My main duty was to defend the rights of women who were victims of violence or aggression , who were deprived of the right to marriage and forming a family. [It also included] whether they had access to education and the issue of work.

Therefore, my face was recognizable to the people in the area , to organizations , and also to the local Taliban. Since I was conducting field activities , we used to travel to remote areas for interviews , where the majority of people were illiterate and had somewhat negative perceptions about the Commission.

During the course of my work, I faced some problems that I will mention here. When the Taliban came to power, their armed men started searching for women activists. My name was included in the list of people who were considered spreaders of enemy ideas.

The Taliban circled around our house several times and asked about me , saying, “Where is that activist for women’s rights?”

The day before the government fell, as I was returning home from work , three armed men in a car chased me for a distance. One of them stuck his head out of the car window and called my name , which caused me great fear. I took refuge in another house , and fortunately, I was saved.

Then, a few days after the collapse [of the government], a bomb blast occurred in front of our house. Our house door was damaged , but fortunately, we were saved. After that, we went to Kabul. We stayed in Kabul for a while , and after that, we tried to come back and migrated to Peshawar via Torkham.

In Peshawar, due to the death of my respected father , we were forced to return to Jalalabad for the funeral ceremonies. In Jalalabad, we were again questioned by the Taliban ; they would ask the people around the area about us. All these factors made me feel a sense of guilt for having worked in the Commission , because it became a cause of danger for me.

I want to discuss this. I was born into a Pashtun family , which is a very influential family , where girls are rarely given the right to higher education. I pursued my studies up to the bachelor’s level and also followed an online program from an American university.

Due to this job, I was also able to financially support my family. When the Taliban came, I was confined to the house , and my family’s financial support was halted. I am an example of the girls who were born into such a Pashtun family and got an education. Now, all of them are sitting at home.

Fortunately, I found a way and sought asylum in Germany , but those girls who remained in Afghanistan and struggled through many difficulties to get an education , up to the bachelor’s level and even the master’s level , we have talented cadres in Afghanistan , but today they are sitting at home. Most of them are also facing threats because their “sin” is that they have studied.

I request the honorable judges to take necessary measures for me and people like me regarding the damage to our work.

I must mention that the Taliban are not the supporters of Pashtun women. Not only during this four-year period since the Taliban came , but even before this, Pashtun women have been facing many problems. We used to go to remote areas for interviews. We conducted interviews based on education, work, security, and health.

In those places, no one knew what a “school” was , and the main reason was the presence of groups opposing the government there. During the interviews, we would note that health services were at zero level. Girls never had access to work because they were deprived of education , and even basic education. They were not allowed initial education. So how could they reach a point where they would have access to work?

Marrying girls before the legal age , the right to marriage and forming a family —all these were issues from which girls are deprived in remote areas.

My message through this court, as a Pashtun woman, to the Taliban is this : to allow girls to study freely , to work , to grant them the rights that Islam has given them within an Islamic framework so that they can work , be competitors like the women of other countries , be businesswomen , be teachers , be literate women , and so that these mothers can raise their children in a good environment and present them to society. Only then will our country be competitive with other countries.

If we consider the United Nations meeting that was held , representatives from all countries of the world were present. Afghanistan was the only country that did not have any member present there. Whereas, a representative of Afghanistan should have been present there , discussed the problems of Afghanistan , presented proposals for Afghanistan, and determined solutions for it.

If we talk about relations , Afghanistan’s current relations are not good with any country. We are forced to let other people make decisions about us , which is a place of great regret for us. Education, from basic education to higher levels, is the fundamental right of every Afghan , but people in our country are deprived of it , they are deprived of work. It is hoped that these issues will be addressed.

Thank you for your attention.