Asia Frequency

Farkhunda Naderi: “Afghan women must be at the forefront of building the country”

Audio 03:30

Farkhunda Zahra Naderi, Afghan politician and feminist activist, in Paris, February 18, 2022. © RFI Persan

By: Heike Schmidt Follow

4 mins

In Kabul, Farkhunda Naderi was one of those Afghan women to whom the future seemed to smile.

Member of Parliament between 2010 and 2015, the winner of a United Nations prize for her commitment to education and the empowerment of Afghan women had worked alongside President Ashraf Ghani as a senior adviser on relations with the UN, before being named a member of the High Council for National Reconciliation.

But the Taliban victory last August ended her career and Farkhunda Naderi fled to Uzbekistan, where she now lives in exile.

Passing through Paris, Heike Schmidt welcomed her to the RFI studios.

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RFI: Before the Taliban returned to power last August, you were a politician in Afghanistan, former MP, special adviser to President Ashraf Ghani, activist for women's rights.

Today, women are again excluded from power and employment, students separated from their peers at university.

A woman no longer has the right to travel alone.

How do you view your country under the rule of the Taliban?

Farkhunda Naderi:

I try not to let my feelings get to me.

Yes, I feel devastated, torn.

But we must keep hope to get our country out of this crisis.

We hear that protesters are arrested, that many women, terrified, remain confined to their homes.

Do you confirm this information?

The few active local media show demonstrators being beaten in the street, this is totally unacceptable.

This must stop immediately. 

But many women, like you, who counted in Afghanistan, had to go into exile... 

It's true.

We should be on their side.

It is our failure, because we have not been able to preserve the government and keep the system in place.

But I don't think only the Afghan elite can change the situation.

No.

Change will come from within.

We have so many qualified women.

But they need to be recognized, to be able to work.

That's why they are on the streets.

They want to be useful, to serve their nation and their people, but they are not allowed to!

It is up to the Taliban to protect them. 

Do you think the Taliban are ready to do this? 

I would so love to see that willpower.

But why did they close the schools?

The system was working.

Even during the war, schools were open.

How could they close them, when they say the war is over?

Today, the Taliban must put themselves at the service of the Afghan people.

Our women should be at the forefront of building the country.

The treatment of women this winter has shocked the world.

The Taliban must respect them, listen to them and give them their place in society.

It is no longer a question of waging war, but of building a civilized country.

The American president wants to confiscate the Afghan reserves, that is to say seven billion dollars.

Only half are expected to return to Afghanistan in the form of humanitarian aid.

Is this the right way to put the Taliban under pressure, when half the population is threatened with hunger?

The Afghans need humanitarian aid and we must provide it to them.

But at the same time, the Taliban must understand why these assets are currently frozen.

First of all, they must show transparency and responsibility, give guarantees.

This money belongs to the Afghans, and no one has the right to touch it.

Person.

But it is up to the Taliban to create the conditions so that this money can benefit all Afghans.

Washington is obviously trying to circumvent the Taliban.

In your opinion, should we, on the contrary, start a dialogue, or even recognize the Kabul regime?

For a dialogue to make sense, there must be clear commitments and a real desire to achieve results.

The responsibility of governing is enormous, for that you need legitimacy.

Every Afghan must be able to feel safe. 

Do you want to return to your country and, if so, what conditions must first be met? 

This is my country, this is my identity.

Afghanistan belongs to all of us and that must be respected.

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• Afghanistan

• Taliban

• Women