Need more voices supporting Afghan women

Afghan women protest the ban on university education for women, in Kabul on Thursday. An activist said some were arrested. Pic/AFP

The Taliban continues its demonic subjugation of women. After it recently banned women from universities, the Afghan rules have stopped women from working in non-governmental organisations in the nation. The heinous and most reprehensible regime, touting Islamic traditions, is back to its ways of erasing one half of the population.

There has been a flurry of comments and opinions about stopping women from university education. Some Islamists have actually supported the Taliban decision. Others have equivocated, asking that we must first ascertain where the Taliban is coming from, before castigating them completely.

A column in this paper highlighted the importance of civil society voices denouncing the retrograde move. The Muslim community needs to speak out the loudest through demonstrations or visible protest. It is not enough to say that this does not affect everyone, or that it is happening in another country so there is little one can do.

There have been protests here by the community on a number of issues affecting Muslims. Years ago, there was a protest because there were riots taking place in Myanmar between indigenous Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims. The protest in Mumbai turned into a riot. There have been small-scale demonstrations on ‘Nakba Day' or what the Palestinians call catastrophe when they were allegedly displaced. These happened in Mumbai.

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Similarly, when Iranian women were protesting, and still are, the forceful imposition of hijab, one did see some demonstrations in support here. Today, Iranian dissidents are paying with their life for taking on the government.

By that same yardstick, the community can raise its voice now too. One did see Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy send out a statement but we have not seen robust protest. In a global world, miles have become mere minutes away and every voice counts.