by Sophie Bleich
Khalida Nasir, and Saira Durani, both 26, are well-educated and working women from the most discussed country in this NATO Afghan Student Forum– Afghanistan. Khalida even presented her view of the Afghan people’s perception towards security in Afghanistan. In this interview they shared a closer insight on Afghan society with us.
Orange: How would you describe Afghanistan to a foreigner?
Khalida: My country has a very fantastic history and it has been a multi-ethnic and multi-language country for a long time. Afghanistan used to be the battlefield for a lot of conflicts between the communism and imperialism. It is very traditional, conservative and hospitable and to me the landscape is very unique.
Orange: What is the biggest issue in Afghanistan right now?
Khalida: It is very recently, that people have arrived to the 21st century and the practice of modernisation. It is almost finished in other countries and Afghanistan is waking up to see the world.
Saira: Nowadays the mayor issue that catches the attention of the international community is the security issue and the opium cultivation. We are right now famous for this.
Orange: How did the leadership of the Taliban affect the daily life?
Khalida: We are living in the capital, we were not affected by them, but the population on the countryside was. We can’t ignore this terror, especially in the remote areas.
Saira: We all know that especially females are affected, they can´t go to school, because the Taliban burned down their schools or their families didn’t allow them to go to school.
Khalida: But we can also not ignore the men, who were also affected. They are also assaulted when they go to school. Everyone is targeted, especially when you work for an international organisation.
Orange: Do you feel secure in your homeland?
Saira: No, because we can’t even go outside. We come directly home after work. If we have to go somewhere else we take a taxi. But at night we do not go out at all, otherwise my family worries. Besides that everyone has a gun at his house, that’s why we can’t feel safe.
Khalida: If I go to far from home alone and its dark I think of kidnapping. It is not only limited to foreigners. There is a reason for this: I work with an international organization. We don’t feel safe at all in Afghanistan. It is a lot easier for us to go to Italy than to go from Kabul to Heart, for example.
Orange: What is education in Afghanistan like?
Saira: A lot of girls don’t go to school, because of the security problem and there are simply not enough teachers and material. In addition to that most of them have to help their families. Maybe in some years this will improve.
Khalida: Now people are waking up from their winter sleep. The new generation is going for higher degrees. In 2007 the Master programmes started for the first time. More parents are now interested in getting higher education for their kids, even in very remote areas, but there are still obstacles, such as the lack of resources. We are lucky, that we were able to study, most girls don’t have this opportunity.
Orange: What is daily life like in Afghanistan?
Saira: Normal people may have a good life, but in some provinces it´s hard for most women, because they are not allowed to say anything. There is the topic of honor killing and forced marriage. Another problem is the women’s access to health care.
Khalida: If anyone wants to see what it was like thousand years ago, they would just have to go to Afghanistan.
Saira: I can’t even tell my relatives that I have a job. And if I would not put on a headscarf everyone will talk about me. It is the same with having a degree, people don’t accept it. In Islam men and women shall be treated equally, but I don’t see this.
Orange: What are you going to take home from this event?
Khalida: I know how NATO is working and helping my country. I was really concerned about the missing interest of the international community in Afghanistan, but now I feel better.
Saira: I will take home good experiences, good memories and a long-term commitment by the NATO Secretary General. Now I feel relieved.
