Afghanistan Ignored: Activists in Turkey call on the world to focus on Afghan human rights

A couple of days after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, western Media started debating a new issue:  How much time should be devoted to Afghanistan? 

"Yes, Afghanistan is important, but other issues need attention too," a highly reputed international media organisation tried to convince during a debate on television.

Not a big problem with the logic, but the timing was problematic. Afghanistan was under the grip of the Taliban again. Human rights were being flouted. Afghan people needed the media to highlight their plight to reign in the Taliban. But the western media decided to downplay the ordeal.

Sadly, in no time, news on Afghanistan dried up in western media.

No phone messages, self-made videos, or plight details in Afghanistan are reaching the reporters it appears.

Human rights activities in Turkey are asking the world to pay attention to Afghanistan.

Several human rights activists in Turkey have called on the international community to pay attention to women's rights, particularly girls' access to education, in Afghanistan. At a gathering in Istanbul, Asifa Saba, a human rights defender said, "For how long will the problem of Afghan women continue like this?"

"The gathering, which took place in Ankara, will not bring any result and I am sure it was just at the level of a meeting. There has been no attention toward the situation of Afghanistan's women," said Zholia Parsa, a women's rights defender.

Recently, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths said that the situation of Afghan women and girls is regressing and also called out the Taliban for reopening girls' schools.

"Women and girls are facing alarming rollback on their rights," said Martin Griffiths. Previously, Amnesty International has said that women and girls have been stripped of their rights and face a bleak future, according to Khaama Press. "Arbitrary detentions, torture, disappearances, summary executions have returned as the order of the day. Women and girls have been stripped of their rights and face a bleak future, deprived of education or the possibility of taking part in public life," Amnesty International's South Asia Regional Director, Yamini Mishra said.

"The doors of the schools have been closed for a year, while officials and international organizations worsen the situation, and none of them takes any concrete effort to get out of this situation," said Ai Noor Uzbek, a women's rights activist, condemning the situation in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the plight of Afghan women has worsened in the country.

Contrary to the Taliban's claims, girls were stopped from going to school beyond sixth grade on March 23 and a decree against the women's dress code was issued after a month. There are restrictions on movement, education and freedom of expression of women posing a threat to their survival. Not only this, the lack of female healthcare workers has prevented the women from accessing basic medical facilities, and the international donors, who fund 90 per cent of health clinics, are hesitant to send money because of their fear of the funds being misused. Around 80 per cent of women working in the media have lost their jobs, and almost 18 million women in the country are struggling for health, education and social rights.

(with ANI inputs)