Amid escalating insecurity and growing restrictions in Herat province, a family that has recently sought refuge in Kabul says that pressures resulting from the Taliban’s conduct, arbitrary arrests, and unemployment have stripped peace from their lives and forced them to leave their birthplace.
Members of this family, speaking with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, say that with the Taliban’s domination, the lives of all people, from women and men to children, underwent extensive changes, but in recent months conditions have become far more difficult. According to them, in addition to poverty and unemployment, the Taliban’s arbitrary arrests have created an atmosphere of fear and insecurity in Herat. They say people are detained without any charge being announced or their offense being made clear, and this has caused widespread concern among families.
Meanwhile, one of the daughters of this family, who has been deprived of continuing her education since ninth grade following the closure of girls’ schools, says that if the Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ education had not been imposed, she would now be a second-year university student working toward her dream of becoming a doctor.
Zahra (pseudonym), a woman who, along with her family, fled from Herat to Kabul due to the restrictions and fear of arbitrary arrests by the Taliban, says the conduct of Taliban forces had robbed their lives of peace.
This woman says: “With the Taliban coming to power, the lives of all people, from women and men to children, were transformed in Herat, but in recent months the situation has become much worse. My daughters and I effectively lived like prisoners at home. Every time my husband or my sons left the house, or my daughters were forced to go out, I did not have a moment’s peace for fear of their arrest or disappearance. At night, sleep would not come to my eyes, and my days passed in worry that something might happen to my children.”
Zahra adds: “Herat is a large province, and in the final years of the republican government it saw remarkable progress. Trade was flourishing, and many women were employed and had independent incomes, but today neither do men have work, nor are women permitted economic activity. Markets that were once bustling with the presence of women have now become empty, with only a small number of women coming out to shop.”
Zahra also speaks about restrictions on women’s dress, saying: “In Herat, women are not even permitted to wear the covering that some women in Kabul use. They are forced to wear a full chador and complete veil. On top of that, the intense heat has made bearing this covering extremely difficult. Every time I went out of the house to do something, I would return with a severe headache and dizziness.”
This woman says: “I always told myself, let whatever calamity is meant to happen befall me, as long as nothing happens to my daughters, my sons, or my husband. Fear of family members being arrested and worry over harm coming to my daughters ultimately forced us to leave Herat and seek refuge in Kabul.”
Heshmat (pseudonym), the father of this family, also complains about the difficult living conditions in Herat province. He says that although the cost of living and the price of goods in Herat are lower than in Kabul, widespread unemployment has meant that many people cannot even afford to buy cheap goods. According to him, in addition to economic hardship, people are also deprived of psychological peace.
Heshmat says: “In Herat, everything is cheaper compared to Kabul, but most people are unemployed and have no income. When there is no money, the cheapness of goods is of no use either. For example, bread that sells for 20 Afghanis in Kabul is 10 Afghanis in Herat, and many fruits and vegetables are cheaper too, but people cannot afford to buy even those.”
Referring to the security situation in Herat, this man adds: “Alongside poverty, the Taliban’s arbitrary arrests have also kept people in fear and worry. People are detained without their offense being clear. We have repeatedly witnessed young men disappear, and after some time, the lifeless bodies of some of them have been found.”
Regarding his family’s decision to leave Herat, Heshmat says: “I was unemployed, my sons had no work either, and every member of the family felt as though we were living in a prison. These very conditions forced us to come to Kabul. Kabul has its own problems too; heavy house rent, the cost of electricity and water, and high living expenses. But at least there are more job opportunities, and electricity and internet are in better condition, so that my daughters can take part in online education programs and not be deprived of education the way I and their mother were.”
This man says: “During the Taliban’s first period in power, my wife could not study because of restrictions, and I could not study because of poverty. Now the Taliban have come to power again at a time when my children are nearly the same age we were then. Still, I do whatever I can so that my children do not remain illiterate and do not repeat the bitter fate that my wife and I experienced.”
Zainab (pseudonym), one of the daughters of this family, says that when the Taliban once again took control of Afghanistan, she was a ninth-grade student. She believes that if the Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ education had not been imposed, she would now be studying in her second year of university. She says: “When the Taliban came, I was in ninth grade at school. With the schools closed, all my dreams came to a halt. In Herat, there is not even a proper possibility of online education; electricity is cut off regularly, and the internet does not have adequate quality either. On top of that, going outside is always accompanied by fear and worry. If the schools had not been closed, I would be a second-year university student today. I always dreamed of becoming a doctor and, unlike my mother, not being deprived of education.”
Referring to the restrictions imposed on women in Herat, Zainab adds: “The Taliban are stricter in Herat. Although women in this province have traditionally had modest and appropriate dress, now even some women are questioned or arrested despite wearing a chador. For this reason, girls and women are less willing to move about the city. We spent most of our days at home, and this isolation was extremely distressing psychologically. Furthermore, both out of fear and because of economic hardship, my sister and I could rarely leave the house to shop or carry out daily tasks.”
This comes as late last month, the Human Rights Activists Coalition, in reaction to the continued detention of women in Herat, had called on the United Nations, special rapporteurs, and human rights bodies to take urgent and effective measures to hold the Taliban accountable.
In a published statement, this coalition had described the arbitrary arrests and restrictions imposed on women by the Taliban as illegitimate and contrary to the principles of human rights, international law, and human dignity.
The Human Rights Activists Coalition had emphasized that what is now taking place in Herat is not limited to restrictions on dress alone, but is part of an organized system for controlling, humiliating, and eliminating women from social life.
The coalition has warned that this conduct is reminiscent of periods of repression and deep-rooted oppression in Afghanistan’s history, periods in which the dignity, agency, and rights of women were sacrificed to tyranny and armed domination.
This body has said that no society will achieve stability, justice, or legitimacy by imprisoning women, silencing girls, and imposing fear among families.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
در سایه بازداشت زنان توسط محتسبان طالبان؛ چرا یک خانواده هرات را ترک کرد؟
