Episode #9
“We Are Fighting This Gender War Alone” | Five Years of Taliban Rule for Afghan Women
In this special episode of We Don’t Talk About That , host Linda Coogan Byrne steps back and the show is led by guest host Sangeeta Kalsi , development editor at Fourth Wave , to mark five years since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. Their guests are Afghan journalist Zahra Joya , founder and editor-in-chief of Rukhshana Media, and Akriti Saraswat, Protection Officer for Safety and Gender at Free Press Unlimited . Zahra founded Rukhshana Media to ensure that the lives of Afghan women were documented by Afghan women. Now working from exile, she leads a team of female journalists who continue reporting from inside Afghanistan, often secretly and at enormous personal risk. Akriti works internationally to protect journalists facing violence, persecution, displacement and gender-based threats and speaks about what meaningful support must look like when physical safety is only one part of survival. Together, they discuss what five years of Taliban rule have meant for women and girls, the systematic erasure of women from education, employment and public life, the dangers faced by female journalists, exile, trauma and the international community’s failure to hold the Taliban accountable. They also examine the growing campaign to have Taliban rule recognised as a system of gender apartheid and to codify gender apartheid as a crime against humanity under international law. This is a conversation about journalism, resistance and what happens when women’s rights are treated as negotiable. Above all, it is a call to listen to Afghan women, support their work and use the freedoms we still possess to demand political action. How you can help Support Rukhshana Media and help Afghan women journalists continue reporting from inside the country. Support Free Press Unlimited and its emergency assistance for journalists facing threats, violence and displacement. Support the Malala Fund’s Afghanistan Initiative , which funds Afghan-led organisations working to keep girls learning. Support online education for Afghan women and girls , including the Herat Online School. Support Sahar Education , which provides educational and digital-skills programmes for Afghan girls and women. Support the Afghan Women’s Fund , providing emergency assistance to women's rights defenders and at-risk Afghan women. Support UN Women’s work in Afghanistan , including urgent services and programmes defending women’s rights. Join the campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid and call for gender apartheid to be recognised as an international crime. Listeners can also contact their elected representatives and foreign ministers and ask their governments to publicly recognise Taliban rule as a system of gender apartheid, support its codification as a crime against humanity and refuse any political normalisation of the Taliban that abandons Afghan women and girls. This episode contains discussion of gender-based violence, persecution and trauma. Follow We Don’t Talk About That for future conversations exploring culture, equality, power and the stories we are too often told not to discuss. Hosted by Linda Coogan Byrne, We Don't Talk About That explores the conversations society often avoids but desperately needs to have. Through honest conversations with survivors, advocates, researchers, artists and changemakers. This season will also include guest co-hosts Ndidi O and Sangeeta Kalsi. Follow the podcast and leave a rating or review to help others discover the show. Connect with us: Instagram: @wedonttalkaboutpodcast Linda Coogan Byrne: @lindacooganb For guest enquiries, media requests or partnership opportunities, please contact: info@whynother.eu Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
