Razia Barakzai

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Razia Barakzai (born 1995) is an Afghan women's rights activist. She was named one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021 for leading the first women's protests against the Taliban in August 2021, [1] following their takeover of Afghanistan earlier that month. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Barakzai was born in Farah Province. [2] She was the only child born to her Pashtun parents; [4] [5] her mother was a housewife, while her father was a commander in the Afghan Security Forces. She attended Herat University, where she studied political science, and obtained her master's degree from Kabul University. [2]

Career

In the late 2010s, Barakzai was the sole provider for her family. She worked both as a university professor in Kabul and for the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan at the presidential palace. During her time with the commission, five of her suggested projects were approved, including proposals for peace parks in the Herat and Nangarhar Provinces and the creation of online systems with which users could submit complaints and petitions to the government. [2] Her last day working at the presidential palace was August 15, 2021, when all workers were asked to leave for their own safety; the Taliban took over the building later that day. [2]

Activism

On August 16, 2021, following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Barakzai and two other women led the first women's protests against the new government in Zanbaq Square, near the presidential palace. [2] [5] In the aftermath, she was arrested and beaten. [1] Online, Barakzai started the hashtag #AfghanWomenExist under which to organize in-person demonstrations. [6] She continued to participate in protests in September 2021, in response to statements suggesting women would not be able to hold positions in the new government. [7] During these protests, she reported being struck in the head by Taliban forces, and that tear gas and pepper spray were used against protesters. [7]

Barakzai and other online organizers declared October 10, 2021 as World Women Solidarity Day With Afghan Women. [2] In December 2021, Barakzai participated in protests surrounding women's rights to work and study, and the need for financial relief. [8]

By late 2021, Barakzai had fled Afghanistan due to death threats made against her by the Taliban. [2] [3] She first traveled to Mashdad, Iran, but relocated after realizing she was still being surveilled. [2] She continued to change locations as she continued to receive death threats. [5]

In early November 2022, Barakzai helped organize a letter-writing campaign aimed at the United Nations Security Council, urging the body to take action to help Afghan women. [9] She has criticized UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed [10] and U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights Rina Amiri for meeting with Taliban officials or suggesting the Taliban might be validated as Afghanistan's legitimate government. [11]

As of July 2023, Barakzai was living in Pakistan with relatives. [1] She maintained contact with activists in Afghanistan, and continued to speak out against Taliban policies, such as the shutdown of women's salons. [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan</span> Country in Central Asia

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometers (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's largest city and serves as its capital. According to the World Population review, as of 2023, Afghanistan's population is 43 million. The National Statistics Information Authority of Afghanistan estimated the population to be 32.9 million as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taliban</span> Militant organization in control of Afghanistan

The Taliban, which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is an Afghan militant movement with an ideology comprising elements of Pashtun nationalism and the Deobandi movement of Islamic fundamentalism. It ruled approximately 75% of the country from 1996 to 2001, before it was overthrown by an American invasion. It recaptured Kabul in August 2021 following the departure of coalition forces, after 20 years of Taliban insurgency, and now controls all the country. The Taliban government is not recognized by any country and has been internationally condemned for restricting human rights, including for women to work and have an education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treatment of women by the Taliban</span> Gender policies, punishments of the Taliban

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashraf Ghani</span> President of Afghanistan from 2014 to 2021 (born 1949)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in Afghanistan</span>

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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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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Afghanistan</span>

Women's rights in Afghanistan have oscillated back and forth 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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References

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