My guest is shaharzad akbar, former chairperson of afghanistans independent human rights commission. What would morally acceptable engagement look like . Shaharzad akbar, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you. Its good to be here. Its good to have you here. If i may, im going to start with some powerful words of yours. You wrote recently, i spend every day with a fire burning in my heart with the pain of injustice that women in my country face. Of course, since the taliban takeover, youre no longer living in your homeland. Youre living here in the uk. Does that actually, in a funny sort of way, intensify the pain you feel . Absolutely. I mean, every day i feel like im living two different realities at the same time. I wake up in oxford, where im a visiting scholar and its green and beautiful and people are going on about their lives. And then im all day long following the situation back home, talking to colleagues, monitoring the human rights violations. And during the day, several times, i h
In my heart with the pain of injustice that women in my country face. Of course, since the taliban takeover, youre no longer living in your homeland. Youre living here in the uk. Does that actually, in a funny sort of way, intensify the pain you feel . Absolutely. I mean, every day i feel like im living two different realities at the same time. I wake up in oxford, where im a visiting scholar and its green and beautiful and people are going on about their lives. And then im all day long following the situation back home, talking to colleagues, monitoring the human rights violations. And during the day, several times, i have to kind of stop myself and remind myself to be more present, especially around my children, but also not to be paralysed by the pain, because pain can be paralysing, it can take away action. You talk about monitoring the situation every hour of every day and of talking to colleagues. Im just wondering how you can talk to colleagues working on human rights issues ins
Bahara Rustam, 13, took her last class at Bibi Razia School in Kabul on Dec. 11 knowing it was the end of her education. Under Taliban rule, she is unlikely to step foot in a classroom again. In September 2021, a month after U.S. and NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan following two decades of war, the Taliban announced that girls were barred from studying beyond sixth grade.