Witness 5 In-person Testimony

Thank you very much. I appreciate being among you, especially among those who truly value Afghan girls and women and have gathered here for the sake of their human values. They have put in the effort, and I truly value this. And I am confident that we will achieve the result of this effort without any compromise.

Of course, when we started our fight, we were facing people who lacked a sense of humanity. The eyes that faced us and looked at us—the rage in them still haunts our nightmares. Without a doubt, after August 15th, as our previous witness said, it was the fall of human values. I can say it was the shattering of the aspirations of the entire Afghan nation. And what I am recalling for you today is my own firsthand account and experience, the story of this period that we endured under the Taliban’s rule.

After August 15, 2021, as we said, many lives changed, and we were no exception. I, along with my colleagues and friends, started protests that were unprecedented, neither in Kabul nor in other provinces. This was in a large gathering, with very little control, and also a very heavy responsibility. When we started our protests, today I am truly without words. Because I felt that when we went to the streets of Kabul… [The speaker trails off, visibly emotional.] Well…

I always say that when we go to a very difficult job, it’s always like we’re going to war. And we had to resist against a very savage group, and on that day, we disregarded everything. Today, if I am wearing a mask, it’s not because I’m afraid. It’s because we faced people where we were not even sure of our return home. Well, without a doubt, when we go to the streets of Kabul, we are subjected to direct and indirect harassment. For instance, the very first word I faced, especially myself, on the streets of Kabul was that they told me, “Wear your veil properly.” Why? Because your hair is showing. And only then would they talk to me. This means they put themselves in such a superior position that we had to adjust our coverings just to be respected by them. In these protests, my colleagues faced the most detentions. The experiences they had were truly heavy for them. They were accused of everything. And as you asked a question earlier, if others can answer, they can tell you how the Taliban identifies you. In the gatherings, the Taliban would take a journalist’s disguise, with a camera in front, and would come and take pictures of all the people who were there protesting and raising their voices. And that is how they were identified.

Our demonstrations were not without this problem either. And the friends who went to prison confirmed this: that all the pictures taken there were brought to us, our faces were identified very closely, and they asked, “Which one of these do you recognize?” And for the sake of protecting us, especially so they wouldn’t expose us, they denied everything. I witnessed my colleague, who, truly with her sense of patriotism, with the love she had for the people of Afghanistan, was tortured so much that I could even see the spots where she was subjected to electric shocks; it was in several places on her body—on her hands, on her feet. And just think, the Taliban finds only one body spray from my colleague in her backpack, and because of one single body spray, they accuse her of apostasy (being non-Muslim). This means they have such a deeply anti-woman belief. After this, of course, we experienced the arrest and detention of our friends and family. But this was not enough.

The Taliban… I want to say one thing, and it is known to everyone. What we experienced—perhaps those who are outside of Afghanistan study the Taliban and the Taliban’s work and the Taliban’s behavior—but we experienced the Taliban. With our soul and spirit, with our lives, we experienced it. And this experience was a lesson for us. A lesson that we must resist even more in the future. And they, in my opinion, from their highest rank down to their lowest rank, have the right to do anything against anyone, especially women, if they stand up against their regime. They must stop them, no matter what activity it is, and they do not hesitate. Similarly, the Taliban, in order to trace our footsteps, in order to find a lead on our activities, searched our homes covertly and unofficially. Of course, this is just one of their actions. To put pressure on us, they arrested our relatives, and through them, through our friends, because we lived in a province that was anti-Taliban ideology—we lived, existed, and had human rights activities—they inflicted every kind of blow they wanted on us.

So, they arrested the male members of the protesting girls’ families to put pressure on the girls and their closest friends. This was also not enough. We held a protest in our province, which is one of the anti-Taliban provinces throughout history. We clearly expressed the crime that the Taliban had committed against Afghanistan, and especially against those people. This led to them- if they could not arrest us because the situation was too risky, and questions would arise for them- they repeatedly contacted and for the sake of arrest, or for labeling us as a military opposition force, they burnt and set fire to our house. Not once, not twice, but three times. They do not want to let anyone stop their activities, with whatever means they have at their disposal.

How were we able—from the situations we were in—how was I able to survive with my life? In the places where we ended up, we always had two covers: one set of clothes we wore to protest, and another set of clothes we could change into at gatherings or in hiding so they wouldn’t identify us by our clothes. And the other was, of course, changing our appearance. But changing appearance, changing location, was not possible for everyone. I want to convey one point to everyone: because we were in Afghanistan, especially experienced the Taliban, I don’t think any of the protesting girls were forced to go out on the street and chant a slogan.

Because truly, going outside in the time of the Taliban was very difficult. It was so difficult that, even without the Taliban confronting you, I myself experienced seeing other men outside who were also standing against you with the Taliban ideology. At one protest, we reached a point where we had to disperse because the Taliban had arrived and there was a danger of beating and so on. I took shelter in a place that was a kitchen. A man was sitting in this kitchen, and he had kitchen tools in his hands, cleaning some vegetables. When he realized—because imagine how men who… with the Taliban ideology… I mean, using everything a woman might use, even her necessity, even a forced situation. Look, I went to take shelter in a room, hoping the Taliban would pass and I could come back out. They wanted to touch me [as in, harass me]. “You’ve come here, you must stay here.” Well, the only thing I did here was ask the Taliban member who was facing me to save me first. I told him that if an outside Taliban arrests me, it is an honor for me, because I did something to stand against a regime. But if you do this, it is truly a disgrace for me, that in a room, a kitchen, a savage like you would come for me.

So, I won’t talk much because you are tired, and so am I, and our experience is bitter, and the conversation is long, and my heart is full. Therefore, my request to you, to the people who are here, is to please, for the sake of the results of the sessions we will have in these two or three days, do not ignore any voice raised from Afghanistan. Because truly, the situation there is critical, and no one can raise their voice. And anyone who does is first suppressed by their own family, who also hold the Taliban’s ideology. Not everyone, not every person has the good fortune to have a liberal family that supports them. So please, the matters that I could have said much more about, I hope to mention them again in my statement. Goodbye and be well. Thank you.