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Women educators back at work

[Afghanistan] Women are resuming their jobs at Kabul University. IRIN
The UN sees women as the primary agents for change in Afghanistan
Hundreds of women in the Afghan capital, Kabul have returned to work following the fall of the hard-line Taliban regime. At Kabul University, some 80 female staff are back at their desks. "I was very happy and excited to come back to my job," Humera, a 23-year-old administrative officer told IRIN. She started work at the university in 1995 but was banned by the Taliban a year later. Following five years of being housebound, she said she now felt that she had been "released from prison". During the Taliban's time in power, Humera’s husband was jailed for his political views, leaving her to fend for her three children. "I was borrowing money from friends and some people were giving us food," she said. Although the university and the Afghan interim administration are not able to pay salaries, women have been flocking to the educational institution. "I don't mind not being paid," she said. "I just want my freedom back and hopefully the international community will help us with payment," Humera added. Aneesa, head of the department of English at the university, told IRIN a similar story. She had already been back at work for a month in her old job that she was also forced to leave under the Taliban. "We are free and no longer in prison," she exclaimed. "A few months ago I would not have been able to stand next to this man, but now we are living a normal life again," she maintained. The Taliban also forced women to wear the burkha - a cloak covering the body them from head to toe. Despite media reports that women had discarded the traditional dress, many have chosen to continue to wear the burkha on the streets of Afghanistan. "We will continue to wear it because we don't feel safe," Aneesa explained. "When we know that security is good - we will take them off and burn them," she added, saying that reports of an increase in crime had fuelled their fears. In addition to the 80 female staff, some 200 women have registered to study in the new semester set to begin at the end of March. "Men and women have the same rights and we are very happy to see that they are coming forward," chancellor of Kabul University, Pamhayar Inayatullah Balekh, told IRIN. Although the official age for attending the university is between 18 and 22, Balekh said there would be no restrictions on older women who want to catch up on years lost. While the educational buildings are in desperate need of renovation and equipment, the chancellor said they were preparing to take on more staff and students in addition to the 3,500 male students already enrolled. The joy of women being able to move around and work freely was echoed by women at an income generating project run by UNHCS (Habitat). Although the initiative was operational under the Taliban rule, there were major problems, one community forum worker in Kabul told IRIN. "We were always working in fear of the Taliban and women were reluctant to participate, Zarmina, manager of district 15's community forum said. "Now we have women knocking on our doors asking if they can get involved," she explained. "We are slowly getting back to the good lives we lived many years ago," she maintained. Speaking with a group of women at the project site, she said it was an important step for future generations too. "We want our daughters to have a good life and not live in misery like we did," she added.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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