As many women celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Southern Downs Refugee and Migrant Network (SDRAMN) asks you to spare a thought for women in a country where they are scarcely regarded as human.
SDRAMN president Bob Wilson said the group had recently been made aware of the worsening situation for women in Afghanistan by Women for Change, a group of Afghan women based in Australia who raise funds and support education for girls in Afghanistan.
“They have advised us of the deeply troubling situation in Afghanistan which is mostly in relation to the Hazara population, a minority ethnic group who have been persecuted for generations,” Mr Wilson said.
Two and a half years after the Taliban took over in Afghanistan, women are prevented from working, studying, leaving their homes unaccompanied or participating in recreational activities.
Contacts on the ground in Kabul told Women for Change of the abduction of 350 young women who have been subjected to torture, beatings and sexual assaults. Tragically, some have taken their own lives while those still alive are in a severely compromised mental state.
In January, twenty-six Hazara men lost their lives in two suicide bombings. The Taliban prevented casualties from being treated by doctors and blood banks were ordered not to provide blood to them. Several individuals who attempted to document the incidents are reported missing and presumed dead.
Women for Change describe this as a catastrophic time that needs to be recognised.
“While financial assistance is appreciated, at this critical juncture, we seek to be the voices of the Hazara community and garner widespread recognition for their plight,” Women for Change said.
Women for Change can send money through to those who need it with zero administration fees. Please help to spread awareness of the plight of Afghan women and Hazara people in general. For more information www.hazarawomenforchange.com
To donate: BSB 063619, Account 11156923
For more information about SDRAMN contact Bob Wilson 0438525119
