After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan

The last remaining female employees of Kabul airport return to their duties

A Taliban soldier guards the airport. An armored vehicle is nearby.

AFP

Less than a month after the hardline Taliban movement took control of Kabul, the airport employee (Rabiah) and a group of her female colleagues broke the barrier of fear and armed with the courage to return to their work at the capital's airport.

The dangers were clear to the employee after the bloody suicide bombings that marked the chaotic evacuation process, and in light of the uncertainty that prevails in the country.

But Rabia, a mother of three, saw no other choice.

"I need money to support my family," Rabia, who was wearing a blue suit, told AFP at the airport, explaining that she felt nervous at home. "I was scared and couldn't talk (...) I felt bad, but I feel better now." .

Of the more than 80 female employees who worked at the airport before the capital fell to the Taliban on August 15, 12 joined the ranks of employees returning this week.

They are among the very few women in the capital who have been allowed to return to work, as the movement has ordered most of them not to resume their jobs until further notice.

Six returning airport employees stood at the main entrance on Saturday, chatting and laughing together, as they waited for female passengers to be checked on a domestic flight.

Qudsiya Jamal, 49, sister of Rabia and the sole breadwinner of her five children, said that the Taliban's control of the capital had caused her a "shock".

"I was very afraid," she explained in broken English, noting that when she decided to return, her family feared for her life.

"They told me not to come back, but I'm happy and comfortable now, no problems so far," she said.

The Taliban severely restricted women's rights in Afghanistan under its previous rule between 1996 and 2001, but since returning to power last month, the hardline movement has announced that it will implement a less extreme system.

According to Taliban education officials, women will be allowed to attend university as long as classrooms are separated by sex or at least divided by a curtain, but they must also wear an abaya and a niqab.

Last Wednesday, the deputy representative of the United Nations Women in Afghanistan, Alison Davidian, warned that despite the Taliban's announcement, "every day we receive reports of setbacks" related to these rights.

At Kabul airport, Rabia confirms that she will continue her work until she has to stop working in this vital artery, which is preparing to start again in full capacity, for the first time, since the United States ended its withdrawal at the end of last month.

Under the new laws, women can work "according to the principles of Islam," as the Taliban declared, but without divulging more details so far about what exactly that might mean.

"My dream is to be the richest girl in Afghanistan, and I've always felt like the luckiest," Rabia said.

And the airport employee, who has worked since 2010 for the company "GAC", which provides ground handling and security services at the airport, added: "I will do what I love until my luck leaves me."

As for Zala, Rabia's classmate, she dreams of something completely different.

The 30-year-old employee was taking French lessons at an institute in Kabul before she was forced to stop and stay at home for three weeks after the Taliban took control.

"Good morning, take me to Paris," said Zala, in weak French, amid the laughter of her five female colleagues, before adding, "But not now. Today, I am one of the last remaining airport women."

The Taliban severely restricted women's rights in Afghanistan under its previous rule between 1996 and 2001, but since its return to power last month, the militant movement has announced that it will implement a less extreme system.

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