Welsh vigils to be held in solidarity with Afghan women and girls

Martin Shipton

A women’s campaign group is holding a series of vigils in Wales in support of women in Afghanistan who have lost basic human rights under the country’s Taliban regime.

The vigils will be held in Swansea on January 31 and in Cardiff and Wrexham on February 1.

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, girls have been deprived of education and women have lost many freedoms taken for granted elsewhere.

‘Excluded from education’

Cathy Larkman of the Welsh Women’s Rights Network said: “Has the world forgotten about the women and girls of Afghanistan?

“Imagine living in a place where you are no longer allowed to show your face in public, and may not even stand by a window in your home in case you are seen. You are excluded from education and the workplace and you cannot leave the home without a male relative; you cannot use the park or any restaurant, may not laugh or talk in public and may not even listen to music.

“If this sounds like the stuff of nightmares, then you are right. Yet this is reality if you happen to be a member of the female half of the population in Afghanistan. As the actress Meryl Streep recently said at the United Nations General Assembly: ‘A cat may feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel into the park … A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not, and a woman may not in public.’

“Put simply, an animal has more rights in Afghanistan than a woman or a girl. This is a human rights disaster and a decimation of the rights of females.”

Cricket

She added: “Unbelievably too, the England and Wales Cricket Board still think it is appropriate to play matches against the Afghanistan men’s teams, despite the fact that the females of that country are forbidden from sport. The famous (and effective) sporting boycott of the South African apartheid era, in which Neath’s very own Peter Hain was so active, must have passed the ECB by entirely. After all, this particular apartheid only affects females.

“However, the international community does have a voice, where the women and girls of the country are forbidden one, and it is high time that this voice was used effectively.

“The Women’s Rights Network (WRN) is campaigning to persuade Keir Starmer to lead the UK into joining with the Netherlands, Australia, Germany and Canada and support their action to bring the Taliban to the International Court of Justice to be held accountable for their crimes.

“We are also organising a series of short vigils in towns and cities across the UK, where letters from women and girls in Afghanistan will be read. These will include the words of Noor, only 13 years old, and how her life and all the dreams for her future have been destroyed.”

Dreams

Noor, whose message will be read out at the vigils, wrote: “Just like all the other girls I also had many wishes. I have always wished that one day I’ll become a good journalist, the first journalist in our family and the whole tribe.

“I have often believed that girls can do anything they want and they have the right to do whatever they want because girls are also human beings, same as boys.

“Having such dreams and wishes remained just dreams when the Taliban took over our country and stopped girls asking for their rights, to do things they want, to get education, to do jobs and they stopped us from making our futures and made us prisoners at home.

“It started just like a very bad dream that we couldn’t imagine; we were shocked for days, weeks and months. Many girls got depressed and couldn’t fight with the situation they were facing.”

The Welsh vigils will be held at Swansea Guildhall Green at 4pm on Friday January 31; at the Aneurin Bevan statue in Queen Street Cardiff at 4pm on Saturday February 1; and at 4pm on Saturday February 1 in Queen’s Square, Wrexham.

Ms Larkman said: “We very much hope that our vigils will show those women and girls that they are not forgotten, building momentum towards a mass vigil in London planned for later this year.

“WRN has personally sent invitations to all Welsh MPs, Senedd Members and councillors to attend and show their support too. We haven’t as yet been overwhelmed with a stampede from these elected members accepting the invitation, but who knows? Perhaps they will find 30 minutes in their undoubtedly busy schedules and also show their support.

“Politicians aside, all members of the public, male or female, are very welcome to attend, leaving any other politics or causes behind them as we all stand united in support and solidarity for the plight of Afghan women and girls. Let’s show these women that we have not all forgotten them.

“In the words of Mushka, aged 25: ‘What I personally want to say for the girls in other countries and who will read this passage is that please never forget us, please try to do anything you can do for us. Stand for us and for our rights. We request you to be kind and sincere about us, help us with any small possibilities you have.’”

For more information about the vigils or other ways to get involved, visit the WRN website and follow the WRN on X via @WRNAfghanistan, @WRNWales and @WomensRightsNetwork