Lalah Osmany | |
---|---|
لاله عثمانی | |
Born | 1992 (age 31–32) Afghanistan |
Nationality | Afghan |
Citizenship | Afghanistan, Germany |
Alma mater | Herat University |
Occupation(s) | Women's rights activist; lawyer |
Known for | "#WhereIsMyName" social media campaign |
Lalah Osmany (Pashto : لاله عثمانی; born 1992) is a women's rights activist from Afghanistan, who founded the social media campaign #WhereIsMyName, which opposes the tradition that women's names were not used publicly in Afghanistan. For her work she was recognised among the BBC's 100 Women in 2020.
Osmany was born in 1992 in Afghanistan; she later studied Islamic Law at Herat University. [1] In 2017 she co-founded the #WhereIsMyName social media campaign with Tahmineh Rashiq. [2] The campaign was set up in protest against the fact that in Afghanistan, women traditionally had no right for their names to be used in public. [3] This custom meant that women's names did not appear on official documents such as birth or death certificates, and not even on her tombstone. [4] [5]
Mary Akrami, the chair of the Afghanistan's Women Network, described the news of the change in the law as a “positive step toward establishing women’s identity". [1] Fawzia Koofi, an Afghan former MP and women's rights activist, said that the change was "not a matter of women's rights – it's a legal right, a human right". [6] Other supporters of Osmany's work include Farhad Darya, the singer-songwriter Aryana Sayeed, and the MP Maryam Sama. [6]
However the change in law was not welcomed by some, who see it as disrespectful to Afghan values or an action taken to appease the USA. [1] The Taliban, who is 2020 were in talks with the Afghan government about power-sharing, oppose the inclusion of women's names on identity cards. [3] In addition, Osmany has received threats of violence because of her role in the campaign. [1]
Osmany's contributions to women's rights in Afghanistan were acknowledged when she featured on the BBC's 100 Women list published in 2020. [7]
The treatment of women by the Taliban refers to actions and policies by two distinct Taliban regimes in Afghanistan which are either specific or highly commented upon, mostly due to discrimination, since they first took control in 1996. During their first rule of Afghanistan, the Taliban were notorious internationally for their misogyny and violence against women. In 1996, women were mandated to wear the burqa at all times in public. In a systematic segregation sometimes referred to as gender apartheid, women were not allowed to work, nor were they allowed to be educated after the age of eight. Women seeking an education were forced to attend underground schools, where they and their teachers risked execution if caught. They were not allowed to be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a male chaperone, which led to illnesses remaining untreated. They faced public flogging and execution for violations of the Taliban's laws.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Afghan members of the LGBT community are forced to keep their gender identity and sexual orientation secret, in fear of violence and the death penalty. The religious nature of the country has limited any opportunity for public discussion, with any mention of homosexuality and related terms deemed taboo.
Human rights in Afghanistan are severely restricted, especially since Taliban's takeover of Kabul in August 2021. Women's rights and freedom are severely restricted as they are banned from most public spaces and employment. Afghanistan is the only country in the world to ban education for women over the age of eleven. Taliban's policies towards women are usually termed as gender apartheid. Minority groups such as Hazaras face persecution and eviction from their lands. Authorities have used physical violence, raids, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, enforced disappearances of activists and political opponents.
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Women's rights in Afghanistan have varied greatly depending on the time period as well as the regime in power. After King Amanullah Khan's attempts to modernize the country in the 1920s, women officially gained equality under the 1964 Constitution. However, these rights were taken away in the 1990s through different temporary rulers such as the mujahideen and the Taliban during the Afghan civil war. During the first Taliban regime (1996–2001), women had very little to no freedom, specifically in terms of civil liberties. When the Taliban was overthrown by the United States following the September 11 attacks, women's rights gradually improved under the presidential Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Women were de jure equal to men under the 2004 Constitution.
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