It was just a snowman. But as winter descended on a starving Afghan population, the heavy snow brought joy to a small corner of Kabul.
A group of young women had stopped next to the snowman to take selfies. As they giggled and looked at their phones, they could have been anywhere.
Then three Taliban fighters spotted them. They came closer - the women fled. With a smile, one stepped towards the snowman - which perhaps he thought was un-Islamic. He tore off the stick arms, carefully removed the stone eyes, the nose too. Finally, a swift beheading.
I had just arrived back in Kabul after 10 years away and had already been lectured by a member of the Taliban about my lack of understanding of Afghan culture. He claimed to know what was best for Afghan women. "Blue-eyed devils" (Westerners) had corrupted the country, he appeared to suggest.
Rather than take his word for it, I wanted to hear from women themselves. Many are in hiding, all fear for their future and some for their lives. There are still women on the streets of Kabul, some still in Western clothes and headscarves, but their freedom is under attack - the freedom to work, study, move freely and to lead independent lives.
I met women who had been forced into the shadows of a new Afghanistan, who took great risks to express their views freely. They could only do so anonymously - except for Fatima, who uinsisted on showing her face.
The Taliban have stolen Fatima’s future twice. The last time they ruled Afghanistan, she was forced into marriage at the age of 14 and her education came to an abrupt end.
This time around, the 44-year-old midwife may still have a job, but like many women I spoke to, every-day life has diminished.
Fatima’s education and employment were hard won. After getting married, she didn’t resume her studies until she was 32. By then, the Taliban had long gone from power. But it still wasn’t easy - even under the new democratic Afghan republic.
She says she did a number of fast-track courses within a short space of time - but there were times when she wasn’t allowed to study. “They would take one look at my ID card and say, ‘You are too old to sit in classes with other students.’”
She finally completed her degree two years ago - but again she faced another hurdle.
“It was hard enough for a girl to get educated in Afghanistan, imagine how difficult it was for an old married wife to get hired.” But Fatima succeeded and has since delivered thousands of babies.
“I wanted to work in an area where I would be able to train women,” she says. “When a woman is educated, she raises healthy and fruitful children. By doing so, she can present a meaningful child to society - one that will bring about change.”
Fatima appears to accept that Taliban control is likely to be permanent, but hopes this time around, they can govern differently. READ MORE...
