I was both excited and nervous. I was going back to my homeland after almost a decade. I knew things have changed, like I have. When my plane landed in Kabul early in the morning and I walked to the local terminal, I had the best feeling. It was wonderful to hear everyone speaking in my native language. I had a nice conversion with a group of women who were waiting to get into the same flight to Heart. I saw few other young women traveling alone as well.
There is no doubt that women in each province of Afghanistan have different problems and they have different views on issues. The progress that women in Herat made is different than the progress of women in Kandahar, Kabul or Mazar-e-Sharif. Naturally, my observations may not include all women of Afghanistan.
I was particularly surprised to see how people’s perspectives about girls’ education has changed; many people are now more receptive towards their daughters’ educational aspirations and they want them to get higher education. In my visit with Abdul Qadir Rahimi, head of the Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission in Herat, I learned that there are eight universities in Herat and 50% or more of the students are females. I saw female students going to schools, universities and to work from 6:00am to 8:00pm. Many students go outside of the country for higher education. Most of the families I met supported their daughters’ decisions to study abroad. This used to be a taboo for girls when I left Afghanistan to study abroad in 2006. The progress is not across the board. Women who live at the center of Herat city have more access to education and healthcare compared to women in remote areas. Rural women still have to travel long distances to access schools or hospitals.
I had the honor of meeting some women activists. I felt very inspired hearing them talk about the issues they face and the progress they’ve made. I know that the women I met will never be silenced. Although the majority of them were young, they knew about feminist work and their human rights as much as I did, if not more. I noticed that women in Herat now hold more leadership positions than before. I met with women lawyers who were fighting for other women. I saw women on TV, many of them were trying to bring positive changes and awareness through theater, music and acting.
The Department of Finance in Herat is run by a woman. This is the first time in the history of Herat province that a woman runs the Finance Department, but many women in Herat still cannot make financial decisions because men are considered the primary breadwinners. Many women who do carpet weaving at home still don’t have control over their income. Although women have started their own businesses, many of them don’t have enough support from their families and government. There is a business center in Herat that’s run entirely by women. The government provided this market or women’s bazaar for women who sell handicrafts and food, but it is so far from the center of the city that other women who make the handicrafts have problems getting there. They have to pay a lot for transportation to get there. They complained that although government has lands in the center of the city, they don’t give them to women. I was also surprised to hear that although those businesses were registered under the women’s names, decisions were made by their fathers, brothers or husbands.
The women I met were extremely worried about losing their rights and achievements in the so called “peace talks.” They argued that peace doesn’t mean the absence of war. Peace means respecting human rights and women’s rights. Many of them said that it must be clear to the Taliban that if they become part of the government, they must respect the constitution which guarantees the rights of women and girls. Women told me that if Taliban return to power and maintain the same views and policies as before, they will not be quiet, and they will stand up for themselves. Some of them said that they may leave the country again for their daughters’ education and human rights. My generations of Afghan women are very different. We will not accept marginalization. No force can stop us from demanding our human rights.