Hazara women in Australia launch campaign to draw attention to women under Taliban rule

Hazara women residing in Australia have launched a 12-month campaign to draw attention the women and girls under the Taliban ruling regime, the Australia-based Women’s Agenda reported.

The campaign, titled “We stand with women and girls in Afghanistan”, was launched on International Women’s Day by the advocacy organisations Rural Australians for Refugees, Women for Change and Azadi-e Zan, targeted at governments and organisations to take action.

However, it was a group of Hazara women living in the rural Victorian town of Shepparton that drove the establishment of the 12-month advocacy campaign, supported by the Goulburn Valley Women’s Association, the Australian news company said.

“Young women and girls in Afghanistan can no longer leave the house without male protection. They are being kidnapped and subjected to horrific persecution, including imprisonment, forced marriage and rape”, said Hamida Samer, former worker in the Ministry of Defence in Afghanistan.

Women and girls have become more vulnerable in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over once again in August 2021. 

According to reports, Afghanistan is the only country in the world that prohibits girls’ education after the age of 12. Women are only allowed to work in female designated areas like health care – if they can work at all.

The campaign has called on the Australian Government to urgently find more creative ways to support education, hope and opportunity for all women and girls in Afghanistan. This includes prioritising visa processing for women at high risk, including women’s human rights defenders.