WHO IS SAMINA?
Samina was born in Afghanistan but had to leave the country in the 90s during the first Taliban regime*. It was quite brutal – she says – people were very limited in public life. She was a refugee in Pakistan for 5 years and in the year 2000 her family moved to Norway. In 2015 she went back to Afghanistan.
“My family decided that they were not gonna raise a child in a war zone” Samina Ansari
Samina had already completed Law school when she decided to move back to her home country. After being told from her parents how Afghanistan looked back in the 80s -completely different from what is now shown by the global media- she felt the need to move back to her home country.
“People thought I was absolutely insane. At that point I was 23 years old, I just packed a suitcase and I flew down to Kabul” Samina Ansari
Nowadays the country is pictured as a place where death, war and torture are protagonists.
MY AFGHANISTAN
When Samina left Afghanistan with her parents for the first time, it was a land full of dust. After the landing in Kabul airport, Samina immediately felt she was home. Her childhood memories came back, all of a sudden, she was reliving days of celebrations. Afghanistan in 2015 was a new place: it was alive, trees were green, there were hospitals, schools, parks. After the first Taliban regime, Afghan people rebuilt a country. People were filled with hope.
During her stay, Samina had the opportunity to talk to Afghan women during her stay. when people talk about women outside of Afghanistan — she says — often they are described as victims. They are seen as victimized people when they have agency in real life, they have dignity and they want to do something. However, due to the lack of resources the population has, nothing concrete can be done.
SOMEONE IS MISSING
Information about the situation in Afghanistan are definitely not missing. In the event, Samina tries to briefly explain the complicated history of a country ravaged by war.
Afghanistan was a war zone under the Taliban regime in the 90s, then 9/11 happened in the USA. The decision to enter Afghanistan came in late 2001, in order to fight the Taliban. The idea was to establish democracy, human rights and women rights. This process was carried out till August 2021, when the main Taliban forces were neglected. However, the smaller groups of fighters that were completely ignored before, suddenly started to gain more power.
In 2018, under Trump administration, it was decided to negotiate peace agreements within the Taliban and the international community. The actors involved in this peace agreement were plenty, but a fundamental one was missing: the Afghan people. After all, the decision was going to affect the Afghan population.
“In January 2021, when I decided I was going to move back to Norway, for the first time in Afghanistan I felt fear.” Samina Ansari
When the peace agreement was finally made, there was no mention of the Afghanistan constitution, of women’s rights, of human rights. Afghanistan was given to the Talibans. After the entire world had been in Afghanistan, after 20 years of trying to rebuilt the nation, it all looked vain.
AN HURTFUL DIALOGUE
A lot of Afghan people today are worried that their country will be abandoned and that their issues will be forgotten. During the panel, Samina explains how dialogue is fundamental to reach a satisfying agreement and stabilize the situation in Afghanistan. It is a hurtful dialogue, there is no trust in the Taliban and at the same time, regular citizens are being deprived everyday of their human rights.
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