4 years after Taliban takeover, Afghan Londoners worry for future of women, girls
When Londoner Sahra Khairandish was growing up in Afghanistan, she heard stories from her parents about the "cruel" conditions they faced under the rule of the Taliban, but those little anecdotes felt far in the past.
The now 20-year-old said she never imagined she would see something like that happen in her lifetime, so it came as a shock when she first heard about the Taliban's return to power in August 2021.
"I was out shopping … and it was pretty shocking, to be honest, because my family is back there and [those] stories are in the back of your mind," said Khairandish, who lived in India at the time.
Aug. 15 marks four years since the Taliban captured Afghanistan's capital city Kabul just hours after U.S. troops withdrew. Since then, the country has restricted women's access to work, ordered that they wear all-covering burkas in public and be accompanied by a man when they are out in public.
Some Londoners with ties to the country say the changes have induced worry for the future of women and young girls in Afghanistan.
"It's pretty clear to everyone that in just four years Afghan women have lost rights that took decades to gain," said Saifora Paktiss, who worked for the Canadian Embassy in Kabul at the time. "We had participation of women [in schools] from almost all walks of life. Now, girls can't go to school after Grade 6 and women can't work in most professions."
"It's not just about loss. It's about erasing women from public life," she said.
Shabir Shahram, who has been living in London since 2001 but still has distant family in Afghanistan, echoes those concerns for the women and children back home.
"The way I see it is it's going to be a future of darkness for a woman in Afghanistan if the world is silent about it," he said. "It will affect the generation that's coming if the mothers aren't educated anymore and the women lose their rights to a government that's powered by men or the Taliban."
"We have families who, even if their lives are not [facing] a serious threat, are very worried about the future of their kids – for the future of their daughters and the future of their well-being," he said.
Starting a new lifeBetween August 2021 and November 2024, Canada welcomed more than 55,000 Afghans, according to data from the federal government, with more than 650 settled in London.
Paktiss, her husband, three kids and sister-in-law came to Canada three months after the Taliban took over.
"As soon as the Taliban government took over, we clearly saw the difference," Patkiss recalled. "The offices were closed and there was a feeling of scrutiny over every document and every person who used to work with international organizations, governments or embassies."
Khairandish, who left Afghanistan for India in 2017 before moving to Canada in 2022, said she and her parents were the first of their family to leave the country. After the Taliban took over, more relatives have fled to countries all around the world.
"It's pretty sad because I had my whole childhood with my cousins and we pretty much spent all our time together," she said, adding that she planned to go back to visit her relatives eventually.
"Now we know that we might never be able to gather up like that again or live in the same country."
'Hope is shrinking'All three Londoners say they are not hopeful the situation in Afghanistan will improve any time soon.
"For me, there is no hope for a better future," Shahram said. "Theres no way for these women to go back to school. It's just a shame for the generation."
Paktiss agreed, saying that "survival has become the main goal for so many families."
"It's a reality where hope is shrinking," she said.
While Khairandish has fond memories of her time as a child in Afghanistan, she said she cannot imagine the country going back to the way it was before 2021.
"Because of everything going on, I think life there will probably stay the same or get worse," she said.
cbc.ca
