Zoya El Ef from Afghanistan: We cannot allow women to be silenced

2025-05-19 11:10:02


	 

	         

	Dilan Babat

	 

	SILÊMANİ - Afghan activist Zoya El Ef, who participated in the NADA Congress, stated that women in Afghanistan are facing famine and existential problems and said: "We cannot allow these voices to be silenced and given more space. We must ensure that these women, these people are visible."

	 

	In 2021, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, causing serious social, cultural and economic problems, especially for women. The Taliban regime systematically restricted women's rights and limited their presence in the public sphere. One of the most widely criticised practices was the ban on girls' access to secondary and university education. Millions of girls and women were deprived of their right to education and cut off from their future.

	 

	Burqa obligation

	 

	In Afghanistan, women are largely banned from working in public institutions. Due to various restrictions imposed in the private sector, many women became unemployed and lost their economic independence. Women were banned from travelling alone; they were required to be accompanied by a male relative (mahram) to travel between cities. Oppressive regulations were also imposed on clothing and the burqa was reintroduced.

	 

	Access to the right to health

	 

	In some regions, women's inability to access even female doctors has become a threat to their fundamental right to health. This situation poses serious risks especially for pregnant women and children. What is happening causes not only physical but also deep psychological trauma. Although international public opinion has reacted to this serious regression in the field of women's rights, no concrete progress has been achieved so far. Afghan women are waiting for support from around the world for their voices to be heard and their rights to be restored.

	 

	‘We want to raise awareness’

	 

	Afghanistan Independent Women Activist Zoya El Ef, who attended the NADA Congress on behalf of Afghan women, spoke to our agency.

	 

	Stating that they are active with a group they established in Berlin, Zoya El Ef emphasised that this community, consisting of first and second generation Afghan women, has established protest camps, organised demonstrations and actively participated in solidarity movements and said, "We are working to keep Afghanistan on the agenda. Our aim is to ensure that this issue is not forgotten, that it is kept visible and that NATO countries and the United States in particular are held accountable for their actions in Afghanistan."

	 

	Zoya El Ef also drew attention to the Doha Agreement of 2020 and stated that they want to raise awareness against the processes that enable the Taliban to be accepted internationally, "The process of legitimising the Taliban is unacceptable. We must stand against this process and raise awareness of the world public opinion on this issue."

	 

	A self-organising collective

	 

	Zoya El Ef stated that the congress was very productive and that Afghan women had the opportunity to share their experiences with women from different countries. "We are a self-organised collective. We are not state-sponsored and we are not affiliated to any organisation that censors or restricts the way we express ourselves. This gives us the opportunity to articulate the situation in Afghanistan,’ Zoya El Ef continued, stressing that at the same time they must not forget the historical and political responsibility of their home country, the West, which she described as the “imperial centre”, for this crisis.

	 

	Women left alone with famine

	 

	Zoya El Ef said that the situation in Afghanistan, especially since 2021, has gradually reached a catastrophic dimension, stating that the country is facing a severe famine affecting 98 per cent of its population, ‘We are talking about this period in particular, because every period can be discussed for hours. However, the current picture is extremely heavy. The economic sanctions imposed affect the Afghan people more than the Taliban leaders. While Taliban leaders can go abroad and carry out lobbying activities in their favour, women cannot work, cannot leave the regions they are in, and cannot make a living.’ Zoya El Ef reminded that many men have lost their lives due to the wars in the last 40 years, so many women have become the main source of livelihood in the family, and stated that this situation has turned into not only an economic but also an existential crisis for women.

	 

	‘We must ensure that women are seen’

	 

	Zoya El Ef drew attention to the fact that girls in Afghanistan cannot continue school after the fifth grade and are completely prevented from accessing university, and stated that this situation has seriously increased suicide rates among women. "This situation is extremely heartbreaking. We cannot allow these voices to be silenced any longer. We need to ensure that these women, these people are seen.’ Zoya El Ef also stated that not only women but also all oppressed identities should be made visible and said, ’We must stand against the erasure of cultural memory, but we must also fight for the LGBTQ+ community in Afghanistan to become visible, because they are also struggling to survive under violent, extremely disastrous conditions."