Welcome to Episode 39 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast, where hosts Mikael Cook and Beth Bailey highlight the struggles of Afghans living under Taliban rule, and the efforts of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and political affiliations who have stepped up to provide support to the people of Afghanistan in the chaos that followed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Our guest today is Heather Barr, the Associate Director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, whose history of working in Afghanistan traces back to 2007 when she first began working in the country with the United
Heather notes the decline in women’s rights traces back to the years prior to the Taliban takeover, when the international community first noticed that girls’ educational attendance was waning in 2018. Since the earliest weeks after the fall of the former Afghan government, Heather discusses many of the specific Taliban regulations that have decimated women’s rights, including the latest arrests of women protestors for allegations of “bad hijab,” in which the world has witnessed the Taliban contradicting their own directives about hijab regulations.
Heather discusses many of the pathways by which Afghan women could achieve justice for the gender persecution they now face in their homeland – either through the inclusion of gender apartheid in international law, through International Criminal Court prosecutions, or through the International Court of Justice. She also discussed Human Rights Watch’s work,
and the enablers that let researchers gain insights on Taliban human rights violations despite strict Taliban control over media. Though Heather believes that there will be a long path to bringing Afghanistan back from the devastation the Taliban have inflicted, she noted that Afghan women will be prepared for that challenge when it arrives.
Our letter this week comes from Fazal and Latifa, a husband and wife who qualified for humanitarian parole in October 2022, but only recently received confirmation that they would soon be transferred out of the country and therefore needed to assemble their passports and necessary
paperwork. The couple did not have the funds to cover these expenses when they
submitted their letter to the show, but a generous American donor has since
helped them gather their final documents so they can be prepared to leave behind
the uncertainty, torture, and pain that marked their last days in Afghanistan
About Heather and Human Rights Watch
Follow Heather on Twitter (https://twitter.com/heatherbarr1)
Follow Human Rights Watch on Twitter (https://twitter.com/hrw) or website (https://www.hrw.org/)
Mentioned in the Episode:
Heather Barr’s episode from Afghanistan with Roh Yakobi: https://www.theafgpod.com/2243404/14298512-heather-barr-how-dare-we-give-up-on-afghan-women-and-girls
Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner. Follow her on Instagram @BWBailey85 or Twitter @BWBailey85.
Mikael Cook was an Army non-commissioned officer and veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He was an active member of the #DigitalDunkirk movement to evacuate our Afghan allies in August of 2021. You can follow his Instagram @Mikaelcook89.
For listeners in Afghanistan:
If you would like to have your story considered for a future episode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, [email protected].
Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us
to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
