I recently received word from Isabelle Zhu-Maguire about her own blog, Perspective of Afghans, on which she publishes articles online written by women in Afghanistan:
Isabelle lives in Australia and has been working with women in Afghanistan over the past two years, publishing their perspectives for readers outside their country to learn from. One of her friends in Afghanistan, Sowieba, wrote Sharp Sword of Culture in the Head of Afghan Women, an article giving insight into the culture of gender inequality embedded in her country.
Isabelle: The power piece is about the gender discrimination and cultural barriers that Afghan women face in their society, which have deep roots and are hard to overcome. Despite some efforts for gender equality in the past 20 years, women's situation in Afghanistan is still not good, especially with the Taliban's return to power, which has been eliminating women from all sectors of society. The culture of inequality between men and women is institutionalised in Afghanistan, with traditionalism, the absolute rule of male thinking, and lack of access to education being some of the main causes. The author stresses that there is a need for both struggling against the Taliban's policies and working to change the views and minds of Afghanistan's people regarding gender equality.
Image: from Perspective of Afghans 2022