One of the world’s most famous feminist manifests is The Dollhouse by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. He wrote it in 1879 in response to the situation of women in European society. It is clear that he had never heard of the word feminism, but later, a hundred years later, the play came to be associated with the women’s rights movement. The playwright would be shocked to learn about how women are treated in some countries in the 21st century. Especially in Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power.
More money for charitable foundations
Actress Jessica Chestain, who stars in the Broadway play The Dollhouse, wrote on social media about how lucky she was to star in the play alongside Pakistani human rights activist Malala Yusufzai. Malala herself has fought for many years for access to education for women, which allowed her to become a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2014. Earlier, in 2012, Malaya suffered for her views: she was wounded by terrorist fighters of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan.
Most surprising is the reaction of major international organizations. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked countries around the world to allocate at least 50% of their funding to organizations that advocate for women’s rights.
This is what I am doing myself. I have donated 385,000 euros to the Global Gift Foundation and £100,000 to the Caring Families Foundation. This is what the foundation does to protect the rights of women around the world.
UN response
At the same time, the world community is not doing enough. Maternal mortality is rising all over the world, child marriages are being recorded, and girls are being prevented from learning. The same Guterres recently spoke of the threat of a massive deterioration of women’s rights around the world. There is no progress in that direction anymore, and gender inequality can be achieved at that rate in 300 years only. And this is coming from the head of an organization that continues to work with the Taliban in Afghanistan, where women’s rights are particularly severely violated.
Recall that after the Taliban seized power in August 2021, women in the country were forbidden to go out with their faces covered and were simply wrapped in clothing from head to toe. They were not allowed to go out in public without a male escort, much less spend time in gymnasiums or parks. Violation of such rules could result in punishment such as stoning or even death. Most interestingly, in April, the Taliban banned female UN staff from entering the workplace. The UN’s response, as always, is one of deep concern. They held a conference on Afghanistan in Qatar ‘on women’s rights, counter-terrorism, drug trafficking and other human rights’.
Afghanistan disaster
The UN Secretary General again called on the Taliban government to ‘reconsider its policy on the denial of women’s rights’. Naturally, there was no response from the Taliban. At the same time, Guterres complains about why countries are no longer allocating money for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. The UN requested $4.6 billion this year, but donor countries provided only $213 million. I think this decision makes sense. No country in the world recognizes the Taliban in power in Afghanistan, so why give them money?
According to the United Nations, 28 million people in Afghanistan are starving and in need of urgent assistance. Among them are about 4 million pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children. The country is in fact in a state of humanitarian disaster. But this problem is associated with the Taliban. Transferring billions in aid to them is overkill; during their rule since August 2021, the Taliban has practically ruined the economy of this country. Even though the past two decades have seen great successes by their predecessors. And recognizing the Taliban and funding their regime will only exacerbate the problem.
Instead, we need to deepen Afghanistan’s isolation and sanction companies that cooperate with the Taliban. After all, such companies are actually providing huge sums of money to a criminal medieval regime where women are stoned in the streets!Omar Samad, former Afghan ambassador to Canada, France, and the EU, suggested that the Taliban’s power should only be recognized when women’s rights are respected in the country. Until then, do not give a penny to this country. The Taliban should follow the example of neighboring countries where women are treated with respect and allowed to study and drive cars.
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