A new generation is slowly beginning to accept the reality that they may not be able to live the life they expected. Girls and women who started to feel like normal people are forced to become prisoners in their homes again. Men and women, young and old, all live in a state of fear and trauma, with… poverty and unemployment rising. Many of our people, including me, now believe that only a miracle can save us.
Fatima Gailani
Ms. Gailani is a political leader and women’s rights activist who previously served as the chairperson of the Afghan Red Crescent Society.
I was one of four women who participated in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan 2020 Peace Negotiations in Doha, Qatar. During those conversations, I saw how the hope for peace had faded and the power of the Taliban over the country had faded. But even now I am not convinced that negotiations are hopeless.
People like to reject politics, but over the past 40 years I have seen that – without a political solution – we always lose. It was very difficult to watch the country collapse and fall under the control of the Taliban. It was a pure act of violence.
During my life I witnessed the takeover of the communists. I have witnessed the takeover of the mujahideen. I have now witnessed the takeover of the Taliban. All these attempts at government have ultimately failed because they have not had the support of the people.
To form a real Afghan government, the Afghan people must be involved. I envision a government where everyone really has something to say, where the government is formed by the people themselves. If the Taliban don’t listen to the Afghan people, if they don’t see the reality, they will lose. The only way forward is through unity. Our country needs to be repaired. We must come together.
Nahid Shahalimi is an Afghan activist, filmmaker and author and the editor of the upcoming collection “We Are Still Here: Afghan Women on Courage, Freedom, and the Fight to Be Heard.”
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