Dr Nilofar Ibrahimi Founder, ZamZam Foundation, Former Member of Parliament of Afghanistan & Kathryn Allan, PhD Researcher the ANU

It has been 1,460 days since the Taliban was handed Afghanistan by the United States and allied governments. The Taliban, once defeated in 2001, regained control in 2021through what can only be described as political collusion. This abrupt reversal erased twenty years of progress, particularly for women and girls.

It has been 1460 days of women seeing their rights stripped one-by-one.  at this point women are hardly able to be seen in public, certainly not without a mahram (male chaperone). They are banned from public-facing work, girls are prohibited from attending school or university, and in one of the most grotesque decrees yet, women were told they “Only need one eye to see”.. Yet, despite this machinery of oppression, Afghan women —both inside and outside the country — continue to resist. They are not silent, passive victims.  They are teaching in secret classrooms, building underground networks, taking to the streets in protest despite grave danger, and speaking to those in the echelons of power —calling on the world to stand with them.

One of those women now calls Canberra home. One of those women now calls Canberra home. Dr Nilofar Ibrahimi, elected to Afghanistan’s parliament in 2010 for Badakhshan Province, was never voted out — the Taliban forced her, and every other politician, from office. Today, there is not a single woman left in a decision-making role in Afghanistan. She founded the ZamZam Foundation, not-for-profit that supports newly arrived refugees from Afghanistan settle in Canberra and runs underground schools for girls in Afghanistan.

The students in the school make the most exquisite of goods – from jewellery to textiles, they are determined to fund their education and be active creators of their own destinies. Every time a new parcel arrives to the Ibrahimi household, it is a deep connection to home, a sign that despite it all, the girls are finding a way to survive. These parcels carry not just these goods, but also letters and drawings from the girls in the school – written in English, proof that their lessons are continuing! The girls share that the school has given them hope, a reason to get up every day, and continue, despite the threats to their lives. When asked about the risks they are taking, the teachers’ response is “Ignorant forces try to destroy the dreams and aspirations of Afghan girls, who with broken wings still fly. [We] are never willing to surrender”.  The connection between women in Afghanistan and those in exile across the world, remains strong, neither is ever forgotten.

A dangerous narrative is taking hold — that Afghanistan is now “at peace”. Western tourists and influencers have been seen promoting the Taliban. Some members of international community are taking concerning steps in allowing the Taliban to run consular duties including most recently Germany, and Norway. Russia has recently announced they will recognise the Taliban as the formal government. The Afghan embassies in Qatar, the UAE, China, Malaysia, and India have already been handed over to Taliban control. To normalise the Taliban is to normalise systemic violations of human rights, especially women’s rights.

As Dr Ibrahimi says, “We do not tolerate racial apartheid. We must not tolerate gender apartheid either. It is too easy to forget about the women and girls of Afghanistan, but in Afghanistan, our sisters fight a war against women every day. And I weep for them every day.”

When she says it has been 1,460 days since the closing of the gates of schools and universities to women, she does not mean she wishes to see them reopened under Taliban rule and with their distorted curriculum. Far from it. She stresses the need for a transitional governing system — one that upholds universal human rights, where women can learn in safety, equality, and freedom from discrimination.

Australia, alongside Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands, has taken an important first step by initiating proceedings to bring the Taliban before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for violations of women’s rights. This is welcome, but it is not enough. More must be done to support women on the ground.

We must not forget the determination and commitment of women in Afghanistan, in the face of the most unthinkable of challenges. Consider this- perhaps the Taliban insist on suppressing women because the women of Afghanistan are so powerful.