After the Taliban took power, women and girls realized that their human rights and citizenship were being stripped away, and they shouldn’t remain silent in the face of such oppression. On September 6, 21, they took to the streets of Mazar-e-Sharif to defend their rights and freedoms.
The protest was coordinated on social media. Fortunately, all these women and girls understood the situation, and had no need for a leader or organizer. Our movement was self-organizing, and each member felt responsible for fulfilling their role and duty.
Suppression of the protest began on that day. In our initial protests, men also participated. However, they no longer dared to join after they were threatened and brutally beaten. The suppression of these protests also led to mysterious killings, which are still occuring.
The Taliban subjected protesters to physical and psychological torture. Among them were two close friends of mine who have painful memories of their suppression and detention. One of my friends, who had served in the previous government’s military sector, was active in protesting with us. Her family had no idea when she was detained. After they found out after a few days, they paid a hefty sum and even submitted the ownership deed of their house as collateral for her release. Her room in the detention centre was freezing, and she had only one blanket. All the Taliban at the centre were men, and there were no other women in the room. Men would conduct physical inspections on her. When she went to the bathroom, her hands were tied behind her back and a man accompanied him.
Her mobile phone was inspected, and they asked about where a particular photo was taken and who was in it. Her conversations with her husband were read, and questions were asked about specific discussions.
They subjected this young woman to psychological torture, making it impossible for her to return to normalcy. There were also cases of assault, harassment, and sexual abuse, but no one can speak openly out of fear for their safety. Above all, every girl fears about what troubles will befall them if their families find out. Secondly, there’s fear about society and the Taliban. No one can express their experiences.
I know of several cases, but I can’t name them. It’s tough to describe the sexual assaults and harassment that occurred. In our group, some girls were subjected to sexual harassment. When we talked to them about it, they would cry silently in despair. This situation indicated the tragedies they had endured. We all know of targeted killings, and many women and girls were killed in different places under mysterious circumstances.
We engaged in various covert activities with other women and girls. When the mysterious killings and detentions increased, fear overtook us. So, to stay safe, I and some others travelled from Balkh to Kabul, where some supportive friends said we could stay in safe houses and remain safe.
We were among girls from Kabul and Mazar, each accompanied by a male guardian. We were housed on different building floors, but most were unaware of each other.
We were busy with our programs and activities when a girl from the neighbouring room came into ours, saying their bathroom had problems and asking to use ours. I allowed it. After that, the door knocked again, and, without looking, I asked who was there. A girl replied that she was a friend and asked me to open it. I opened the door and realized there was a Taliban uniformed person standing there. I froze in place and was dumbfounded.
The girls tried to convince them that they were sisters and had come to Kabul for a vacation. They couldn’t convince the Taliban. One member demanded our mobile phones. I was the first to retrieve my phone from under the pillow and hand it to the Taliban. They also gathered all the male companions and tied their hands with the girls’ scarves.
In the detention centre, they kept all of us in one cell. All the girls had tearful eyes, fearful minds, and exhausted bodies during that first night.
There was a curtain hung in one section of the room. That’s where they took girls for interrogation. Initially, each girl was asked to identify her phone and then to unlock it. They searched them and questioned everything they found, even personal photos and conversations.
Some girls said they were subjected to beatings, but I wasn’t physically tortured, although the interrogation questions were harsh, threatening, and torturous.
They said they recorded and archives our forced confessions and that whoever had their confession recorded first would be released sooner, while anyone who refused wouldn’t be freed. During the recordings, we were also told to say that the Taliban treated us well. A female Taliban police officer was present during the video recording and told us what to say.
Before giving our forced confessions, we decided that we wouldn’t mention any names of women and girls inside Afghanistan if asked about our group leader. In this regard, we named women outside Afghanistan, even if they were not involved in the protests. We understood that they were safe and wouldn’t face any problems. So, women such as Hemira Qadiri, Huda Khamush, Atiya Mehraban, and others were mentioned, although some of these ladies had not participated in our activities.
After spending 14 days in detention, I was released, but my brother had to provide the Taliban with the ownership deed of our house to secure my release. My guardian and I signed a document stating that, if I engaged in any social activity again, whether in written form or protests, I would be immediately arrested, and we would lose the house.
* Marwa Mubarez is the pseudonym for a 27-year-old economics graduate from Balkh province. She was a government employee before the Taliban took power.
