Don't Forget About Us.

By Audrey Hwang

In August of 2021, the United States pulled its troops from Afghanistan. A country torn up by war and left in crumbles became the feeding ground for power-hungry groups.

On August 15 of 2021, the Taliban took over.

This wasn’t a group that the country was new to.

In 1996, they captured Kabul, the capital and killed the country’s president. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was established then, with their first plan of action being to strictly interpret the Qur’an. Women were treated without mercy, political opposition was struck down and religious minorities were silenced. 

That was only the beginning.

Before the United States experienced the deadliest terrorist attack on home soil. The Taliban had allowed for the terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda to recruit, train, and deploy missions from their country, providing a safe haven for the organization to plot against our country.

That led to the United States declaring war on Afghanistan on October 7th of 2001.

For 20 years, war terrorized the country. 2,324 of our own soldiers were killed in action and 46,319 innocent Afghan civilians were slaughtered in the crossfire. A war that started from self defense ended in a battle no one expected to fight. The damage had been dealt and Afghanistan would never return back to how it was.

The United States pulled out and citizens fled out of fear of what the Taliban would do to them. While families uprooted their lives in an attempt to leave the country, it seems like the only ones left behind were the women that had stood by in silence during the war.

The moment that our country fled was the same moment where the Tablian filled in our shoes and took complete control of the country. 

Since then, women have lost their rights on a steady trend.

Women aren’t allowed to go to school.

Women aren’t allowed to work.

Women aren’t allowed to pray in public.

Women aren’t allowed to sing in their own houses.

Women aren’t allowed to play sports.

Women aren’t allowed to visit parks.

Women aren’t allowed to leave their houses without a male chaperone.

Women aren’t allowed to show their skin in public.

Women aren’t allowed to access healthcare from a man.

Women aren’t allowed to become doctors.

Women aren’t allowed to be involved in politics.

Women aren’t allowed to speak publicly.

Women aren’t allowed to accuse a man of rape.

Afghanistan women have lost so many of their given rights that they aren’t even acknowledged as people, they’re seen as objects.

It’s impossible to believe that we live on the same planet as them, yet our lives couldn’t be any more different. They’re locked inside, covered head to toe, begging to get a glimmer of sunlight while everyone else across the world lives freely.

It isn’t fair to sit by in silence when millions struggle.

Even the women of Afghanistan have refused to be shut down. UN Women entered the country and fought for the right to stay there, delivering live saving aid. The Women’s Advisory Group was created, engaging with the Taliban to advance the priorities of women. Women took to social media, peacefully protesting for their legal, social, and political rights. They even took to the streets, chanting, “Education for All”. Their fight for justice was met with violence and repression.

When their stories get the darkest, these women never lose hope. They hold on to their hope, that maybe someday, they will get the decency to be treated like a human being again.

Maybe you’ll understand one day, with our current country on the trend of taking away rights from it’s own citizens. Maybe our country isn’t as different as the other side of the world. The only difference now is, you have the ability to speak up about the injustices they face. Change will never come without people who resist to oppression.

Don’t forget about their stories. Don’t forget about them.