KABUL (SW) – Under strict gender-based discrimination, an array of women and girls across Afghanistan said they hardly felt celebrating the Eid al-Adha this year.
For almost two years now, girls and women have been faced with various restrictions, such as not being able to study and work. Women who lost their job and stayed at home say that they could not celebrate Eid with joy. They want the Islamic Emirate to remove restrictions on women on the occasion of Eid.
Sahar Rahimi, who was previously an employee of one of the media and aid institutions, said that due to unemployment and the bad economic situation, she could not prepare to celebrate Eid. “Before, there was a lot of excitement for Eid, but this year, Eid is not the same for us. We got no clothes, no sacrificial animals, no Eid table. The difference between this Eid when we are deprived of the right to work and the Eids when we used to work is very big.”
Soraya Rouhi, another citizen who stayed at home after the ban on women’s work, said that she can only celebrate happy occasions when she can return to work and be present in society. She added: “Give women a role in society. To provide work and study rights to women and to make women active again in the society is vital.”
On the other hand, other women who are still working say that they spend the Eid days with frustration and unhappiness due to the current situation and the restrictions on women. They want the Islamic Emirate to respect the equal rights of men and women, provide opportunities for women in education, health, technology, economic and cultural sectors.
Surya Yousefi, an employee in one of a institution, asked the Islamic Emirate to reopen the gates of schools and universities to women and girls. She added: “We hope that the Islamic Emirate will give the women their rights. Open the gates of universities, schools and recreational places for women.”
Najm al-Sama Shafajo, a doctor in one of the medical centers, said that the presence of women in various departments, especially gynecology-obstetrics, is necessary. She urged the current government to provide the conditions for the presence of women in the society. “The presence of women is always important in every profession, in every field, in society. Without women, success is far away. The presence of women is very important in the obstetrics department. The women who are in this department are always at the service of other women.”
At the same time, women’s rights activists say that women have a fundamental and important role in every field of life, without their presence, no country can develop.
Parvana Barakzai, a women’s rights activist, said: “There are women who have worked hard for special positions such as doctors, engineers and teachers in every department with many problems. Women should be supported and not ignored.”
Diwa Patang, another women’s rights activist, said that the presence of women in the health, security and education sectors is necessary. She added: “In every country that has progressed a lot, women have been given a lot of attention in that society. The government should provide suitable conditions for such women so that they can work for their country.”
On the other hand, Farid al-Din Nouri, the head of “Women for Women” Institute, has also asked the Islamic Emirate to remove the restrictions on women and provide them with education and work. “Our request to the Islamic Emirate is to remove the restrictions on women’s education and work, so that the existing crisis between the people and the government can be resolved. More than 50% of the country’s population are women, their presence is important for the future of the society. Providing this field is the responsibility of the Islamic Emirate.”
Meanwhile, Akif Mohajer, the spokesman of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, told Salam Watandar that no one has the right to take away women’s rights. In his special Eid message to women, he said: “My message to my compatriots, especially women, is that all our sisters whose rights have been violated, are not given an inheritance, or are forced into marriage, can refer to the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. No one has the right to violate women’s rights.”
This is despite the fact that Hebatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Islamic Emirate, in a message broadcast on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, along with the Eid greetings, said that after the Islamic Emirate came to power, all the “Sharia rights” of women have been secured and all the administrations are in line with the provision of other rights.
ENDS
