– The restrictions on women’s access to health and work, freedom of movement and expression, and the right to education border on persecution, writes the asylum agency in its recent assessment of the situation in Afghanistan. The asylum agency believes that the living situation for Afghan women under the Taliban’s strict rule has become unbearable. – The Taliban’s implementation of Sharia puts women and girls at risk of persecution. Therefore, they are eligible for refugee status. STRICT: The Taliban has introduced education and work bans for Afghan women. In many places they are required to cover themselves with the burka. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi / AP The Taliban took power in Afghanistan 1.5 years ago. Since then, girls over the age of 12 have been banned from school and education. women too rarely allowed to take jobs outside the health sector. And, there are still restrictions on where women can move in the country. EU member states are not obliged to follow the asylum agency’s recommendations, but in practice they often do, according to spokesperson for the Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers, Jon Ole Martinsen. – This is a very clear recommendation to EU member states. What the EU’s asylum agency says is that being an Afghan woman in itself is enough to get protection in Europe. Joy in Kabul news has been in contact with several women in Afghanistan about the new recommendation to the EU’s asylum agency. They applaud the measure. – We are facing a disaster. This is a very brave move. It shows that when there is a will there are solutions, says Zuhra Bahman. She heads the aid organization “Search for common ground”, and is an experienced aid worker with a large network among women who are now not allowed to work. She praises the recommendation of the asylum agency, but points to weaknesses. POSITIVE: This is big, says aid worker Zuhra Bahman from Kabul to news. – Afghan women must physically reach Europe to apply for asylum. It is almost impossible.. They cannot afford the expensive smuggling trip, and are often not allowed to leave the country. Therefore, we must be given the opportunity to apply for asylum in Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, without having to risk our lives on the way to Europe. In recent weeks, news has interviewed a number of women in Afghanistan who describe an increasingly tough everyday life under the Taliban. – I have struggled mentally ever since the work ban. Why should it be forbidden to support the family and help others in need? Should we suffer just because we are women, asks Mariam Hamidi. She worked as a health worker and is no longer allowed to work. Tougher everyday life Mariam does not buy the Taliban’s explanation. – The Taliban suddenly announced that we could not work. They must give us a good explanation. There are aid organizations here that are run by and for women, where women respect the dress code of the Taliban. Men are not even allowed to take jobs there. Yet women are not allowed to work there. The Taliban have imposed major restrictions on women’s lives. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi / AP Mariam is one of millions of Afghan women who grew up in the last 20 years and experienced historic freedoms in Afghanistan. They went to school, received solid educations, and went into jobs, which gave everyday life meaning. – We had such big plans and dreams for ourselves and the country, but in an instant we lost everything we had worked so hard for, says the 24-year-old dejectedly. UDI makes a new assessment Jon Ole Martinsen of the Norwegian organization for asylum seekers believes that the recommendation from the EU strengthens Afghan women’s right to protection in Europe. – If an Afghan woman is refused in an EU country, she will be able to win through in e.g. the Human Rights Court and have their case overturned. Jan-Paul Brekke, who is head of research at the Institute for Social Research, believes that the recommendation to the asylum agency provides opportunities for many Afghan women in Europe’s nearby areas. – This can also have an impact on Afghan women who are in transit in neighboring countries, for example in Turkey, and would like to enter Europe. The Asylum Agency’s recommendation will also have consequences for Norwegian asylum practice, both Brekke and Martinsen believe. – As of now, Norway grants asylum to single Afghan women without a network. But with this recommendation, UDI will have to open up to give all Afghan women protection – including those who have families left in Afghanistan, says Martinsen in Noas. UDI wrote the following about Afghan women in its latest practice orientation to the Ministry of Justice in July 2022: – Although it is a serious situation, we assume that not all women are exposed to persecution on return to Afghanistan. But following the recommendation from the EU’s asylum agency, UDI says this today to news. – Since then, the situation for women in Afghanistan has further worsened, and UDI is therefore in the process of making an updated assessment, says Ingrid Olram, specialist in UDI Protection. Sweden changed its asylum practice already in December last year. There, all women from Afghanistan now automatically receive protection and a residence permit – simply because they are women. – The situation for women and girls in Afghanistan has become so bad that we see it as persecution, says Carl Bexelius, head of legal affairs at the Migration Agency, which is Sweden’s answer to the UDI.
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The EU’s asylum agency believes that Afghan women must receive protection in Europe. – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
