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| Taiba Sulaimani is one of hundreds of Afghan women around the world posting singing videos on social media. (Screenshot) |
In a video posted on social media platform X, a user named Taiba Sulaimani recorded herself in the mirror, singing loudly in protest against the Taliban's new rule. She wrote, "You call my voice naked; But I will sing the national anthem of freedom!" with the hashtag "Say no to Taliban".
Taiba Sulaimani is one of hundreds of Afghan women around the world posting singing videos on social media platforms to protest against new laws passed by the Taliban government last week that ban women from speaking in public and require them to cover their entire bodies.
Women in Afghanistan are not allowed to expose any part of their body, including their eyes. However, before the law was enacted, it was only a recommendation, not a requirement, and many women still exposed the upper part of their faces when going out.
The new law is trying to turn women into faceless, voiceless figures, said a spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In response, women like Ms. Sulaimani are protesting and refusing to be silenced.
“I made this video because I wanted to tell the Taliban that you cannot tell me what to do,” Sulaimani said.
Sulaimani fled Afghanistan for Canada three years ago, after the Taliban took power in 2021, without even having the chance to say goodbye to her family. Although she is now more than 10,000 km away from her homeland, the Taliban government continues to threaten her, even calling to warn her not to forget that her family is still in Afghanistan.
However, the threats only made Sulaimani more determined.
“This makes me even more certain that I have to be stronger than ever and move forward,” said Ms. Sulaimani.
Hoda Khamosh, an Afghan woman currently living in Norway and founder of the Afghan Women's Justice Movement, immediately responded to this call.
For Ms. Khamosh, each voice can become a thousand voices, proving that women are never just individuals who can be easily erased.
Ms. Khamosh posted a video singing a revolutionary song, with the message that “if you close your doors, we will open our windows to make our voices heard.”
“We do not go to war with guns, but with our voices, with our own images. This resistance is a war and a struggle,” Ms. Khamosh shared.
Even women within Afghanistan post videos of themselves singing, sometimes solo, sometimes in pairs or small groups, but always wearing burqas to conceal their identities.
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| New Taliban law bans Afghan women's voices and faces from public places. (Source: Times of India) |
Zahra, a journalist in Afghanistan, said the situation there was changing rapidly. There were plenty of women outside last week, but since the new law was passed requiring women to cover their bodies and voices, the streets have been deserted.
The new law considered women's voices a temptation. Women were banned from singing, reciting poetry or reading anything in public, among other strict rules that forbade women from leaving the house alone and from looking at or talking to men to whom they were not related by blood or marriage.
The restrictions appear to make it impossible for women to leave their homes, and breaking the rules can result in warnings or arrest. A Taliban spokesman said the new law would play an important role in promoting morality and eliminating vices.
According to journalist Zahra, nowadays, many men often ask female family members to stay at home because they don't want to get into trouble.
“Sometimes we have nightmares that the Taliban will come and arrest us,” said Zahra.
Hope and belief alone may not have much of an impact on many Afghan women, but some now feel empowered by the outpouring of support from around the world as they join in on the singing videos.
Now, Afghan women hope the international community will take concrete action to protect them. “Please don’t leave us alone. We all need your support,” Sulaimani said, choking back tears.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/phu-nu-afghanistan-cat-tieng-hat-chong-lai-luat-le-ha-khac-cua-taliban-284552.html
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