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It has taken only three days to completely transform the lives of women in Kabul.
The mere act of stepping out of their homes has become an almost insurmountable challenge, they told The National.
Since the Taliban captured the Afghan capital on Sunday, many women in the country have retreated indoors, fearing the wrath of the fundamentalist group.
But many defiant women are stepping out of their homes as an act of rebellion.
We should not give up. Let us see who tries to stop us. How many women will they kill?
Female activist in Kabul
“We cannot let them imprison us again, we have to make a stand now,” said Maryam, a Kabul resident aged 24. Her name has been changed to protect her identity.
The Taliban, who control the majority of Afghanistan, are known to repress women’s freedoms. During their regime in the 1990s and in areas they continued to control after 2001, they imposed strict rules limiting women’s presence in public spaces.
Women were not allowed to go to school or work. They were forbidden to leave homes without a male guardian and, even when they did go out, had to dress in a full hijab.
However, after the Taliban’s fall in 2001 at the hands of a US-led coalition, Afghan women were empowered and built a strong presence in social and political spheres.
“It has been like hell for me. I can’t get over the shock," Maryam, a social activist and a vocal critic of the militant group, said of its return to power.
“I have worked in provinces where the Taliban had control in the past and had experienced to some degree how they treat women,” she said.
She added that she was recently in one of the northern provinces that fell to the Taliban last month.
“I left when things got worse and came to Kabul. I did not expect that this would happen in Kabul,” she said.
But Maryam and her colleagues are determined not to allow the Taliban to lock them up as they did before. In small groups on social media platforms, the women gather to discuss the crisis.
They exchange notes on conditions in various parts of the city, and then agree on a plan to step outside. “Girls, let's come out and walk the street,” Maryam tells the others.
“We should not give up. Let us see who tries to stop us. How many women will they kill?” she says.
Others share advice on how to be safe when out and about. “Cover yourself, and record everything when you are outside,” they say. “If we stand together they have to accept us.”
But with the extremist group's return to power, many Afghan women fear they will be targeted for their mere identity, not just by the Taliban but also by the more conservative elements in society.
“I have heard from friends that their fathers and brothers are restricting their movement, some out of concern for their safety, but many are using this opportunity to suppress the women,” Maryam told The National.
The end of 'vibrant Kabul'
Maryam did step out of her house on Tuesday after days of fear and anxiety. Outside, she saw a very different Kabul than the one she had last seen when she rushed home on Saturday.
“The streets were empty and many shops, particularly cafes and restaurants, were still shut. There were Taliban fighters everywhere,” she recalled. There were a few women like her without a male escort but in the traditional Afghan burqa on the streets, she said.
“It was not the vibrant Kabul we know.”
In the Taliban's first press conference on Tuesday, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the media that they were committed to providing women with their rights, based on Islam.
“Women can work in the health sector and other sectors where they are needed,” he said.
However, in many provinces there have been reports that the Taliban have already forbidden women from leaving their homes. Women in Herat reported being sent back from their workplaces, told their services were no longer needed.
In Kabul, Maryam was able to walk the street for only 15 to 20 minutes. “I walked past the Taliban, head held high. They didn’t do anything but I know it is because right now they know all eyes are on them so they won’t beat women on the street right now to save their image in the international media,” she said.
“But there is no guarantee that they will give us our rights in the future. If anything, once the lens moves away from Kabul, they will target us."
But many are not giving up without a fight, in some cases, literally.
Reports from Nangarhar province on Tuesday claimed that an Afghan woman in Jalalabad city had been killed by Taliban gunmen following an argument.
One local journalist in Jalalabad told The National on condition of anonymity that when they enquired about the killing, they were told by the Taliban fighters that she was killed accidentally.
“They said that this girl was kidnapped by thieves, and was escaping her captors, but the Taliban mistook her as a hostile woman and shot her,” they said.
However, the source added that local witnesses gave a different account.
“The woman was travelling in an auto rickshaw and got into an argument with a Taliban fighter, I saw it with my own eyes, and he shot her,” they told the journalist. The source added that the Taliban would not allow any local people to remove her body from the area.
“I don’t know what they fought about or why they killed her, but all she did was raise her voice,” they said.
Maryam, who is encouraging women to get out, is cautious about her own safety. “I talk to my friends and we are terrified. We are all still in shock. An evil has taken over our city and we will not even be recognised as human,” she said.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include:
- Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
- Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
- Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani
- Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
From exhibitions to the battlefield
In 2016, the Shaded Dome was awarded with the 'De Vernufteling' people's choice award, an annual prize by the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers for the most innovative project by a Dutch engineering firm.
It was assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to modify the Shaded Dome to make it suitable for ballistic protection. Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the companies which designed the dome, is an independent international engineering and project management consultancy, leading the way in sustainable development and innovation.
It is driving positive change through innovation and technology, helping use resources more efficiently.
It aims to minimise the impact on the environment by leading by example in its projects in sustainable development and innovation, to become part of the solution to a more sustainable society now and into the future.
Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
Founders: Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke
Based in: Dubai
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
Stage: Looking for seed funding
Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
'C'mon C'mon'
Director:Mike Mills
Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman
Rating: 4/5
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
