by Michelle Gates Roberts, FAUSA
“...[C]an’t even go outside to walk for exercise by themselves.” “Stoned to death for a ‘mistake’ they (the Taliban) thought was egregious.”
Yesterday I had the honor of meeting Shahla Farid, a former professor at the University of Kabul, and her two daughters. We didn’t have time for Ms. Farid to tell me much about her life. Honestly, if we had had the time, she wouldn’t have talked about herself. Her message would’ve been the same: since October 2021, the girls and women of Afghanistan have been erased. No longer able to go to school or work, they can’t even go outside to walk for exercise by themselves.
She said, “Remember when you were a young child and had dreams. And then those dreams were ripped from you and you were erased, not even considered human, but property. That is what life is like for the women and girls today in Afghanistan.” She also elaborated on the harsh penalties for ‘mistakes’ – things that we do every day in democratic societies. She didn’t want me to feel sorry. Feeling sorry doesn’t change things. Ms. Farid wants the world to know what is happening. She knows the Afghan women and girls have no hope of their situation changing without outside help. It was only a few years ago that they enjoyed rights, freedoms, careers.