New Delhi: Waking up in tears and yearning for a life of freedom has become a part of Meena Widi’s life in Afghanistan. Although it seems like a lifetime ago now, the 25-year-old recalls how only two years ago, she was enjoying life as a student in Delhi, attending seminars, working part time and trying new cuisines with friends.
In a diktat issued in December 2022, the Taliban quashed women’s rights to university education. Girls are now only permitted to attain formal primary education.
Widi is one among the Afghan women whose dreams have been crushed and voices gagged under the Taliban rule.
Speaking to ThePrint from Kabul, Widi says life has crumbled to “nothing” after the Taliban restricted education and movement for Afghan girls and women.
“I was married off after the Taliban government came to power. I had nothing else to do. I used to teach at a private coaching institute. However, the Taliban there used to threaten me and I eventually had to quit. I couldn’t go back to finish my education either. Worrying for my safety, my family convinced me to get married.”
Widi has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi and a Master’s degree she finished remotely from Lovely Professional University, Punjab. She was forced to go back to Kabul in 2020 due to Covid protocols mandating hostel premises in universities be vacated.
An ambitious woman, whose aim in life was to start her own research institute, Widi says she is now left to tend to a huge family and deal with her two younger sisters’ fears and mental health issues.
“I had to take my younger sister to a doctor, she is suffering from anxiety and depression. She is a girl with big dreams and all of them have been crushed. To add to her woes, the idea of marriage at such a young age of 19 has upset her to no end,” she adds.
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A life of domestic drudgery
Afghan girls ThePrint spoke to say more and more parents are now getting their young daughters married. They say that the fears of a woman are manifold compared to those of a man. “A man fears for his life here, but a woman fears not just for her life, but chastity and dignity too. Parents don’t want their daughters to be forced to married to a Talib,” says one.
“Parents just want their daughters to get married to a boy living abroad. It doesn’t matter what he does for a living. As long as their daughter is getting an opportunity to leave the country, they are happy,” she adds.
Far from a life filled with hopes of an education and bright future, young Afghan women are getting trapped in a life of domestic drudgery. “Our hands are tied by the invisible ties of Taliban rules. Life in a prison holds a better future than this,” another says.
However, a female Afghan scholar pursuing her doctorate in India, says it would be inaccurate to say that young girls being forced into marriage has become a norm. “As far as marriage of underage girls is concerned, only those who are unlettered and living in villages or facing extreme poverty have taken such steps,” she adds.
Uncertain future
While Afghan students in India are facing an uncertain future after completion of their studies here, those in Afghanistan are struggling not to lose hope.
As the situation in Afghanistan remains unchanged, Afghan students graduating from Indian universities have neither the inclination to return to their homeland nor the fortitude to remain in India. Most of them have registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a process which is very lengthy.
Almost every Afghan student studying in India has a friend or relative who has migrated to another country or is trying to do so. Like the story of 27-year-old Qudsia Ali, currently living alone in Islamabad. In 2020, the double-degree holder had bagged a scholarship and admission in the South Asian University in Delhi and was attending classes online due to Covid restrictions.
She had hopes of moving to India once things settle down. However, immediately after the fall of the Ashraf Ghani government, Ali had to flee the country. “My brother used to work in one of the ministries and we all had to evacuate the country immediately. While my family was able to move to Germany, I am still trying to get an admission into a college there,” she says.
Her hopes of pursuing her education in India also took a hit as she was disallowed from giving her third semester examination online due to non-payment fees.
She spends hours every day learning German and longing to be reunited with her family. Going back to Afghanistan is not an option. “Women students in Afghanistan are trying with all their might to find scholarships in Bangladesh, Pakistan and China. The life of a refugee in another country may be challenging, but it is still better than that filled with shackled misery back home,” she says.
Sharing a similar ordeal from Kabul, 29-year-old Shokriya Abrahemi, an MBA graduate from Jain University of Bengaluru, says, “I have spent the last two years applying to countless universities. If I don’t get it anywhere, I will have to settle for marriage. My parents are not forcing me to get married, but they are worried about my safety.”
Watching the Taliban government put restrictions on women’s rights is like “helplessly watching one’s whole world crumble”.
“It is difficult for me to explain in words the kind of effort it took to come to India and finish my education. I sat in a classroom of foreigners and made my way in their country. My Master’s degree was a culmination of years of hard work,” she adds.
(Edited by Geethalakshmi Ramanathan)
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