Afghan women sing freedom

Amid all the repression of women in Afghanistan, something joyful can be heard. It is the voice of women singing.

Since returning to power three years ago, Taliban leaders have banned girls from attending school beyond the age of 12 and required women to be covered from head to toe in public. Last month, they imposed laws ordering women and girls not to speak in public nor be heard singing or reading aloud within their homes.

Yet the decrees have only led to more Afghan women breaking out in song on social media. Many appear without a head covering. A commonly used slogan – “My voice is not forbidden” – echoes one used during recent protests in Iran: “Women, life, freedom.”

In one set of videos on Instagram, a young Afghan woman lifts her blue burqa and sings, “Not afraid of hope, love, and tomorrow / Not afraid of kissing you among the Taliban.”

Another woman stands before a mirror, fixing her hair. “I am not that weak willow that trembles in every wind / I am an Afghan woman,” she sings. “I will break free of this cage, to escape from this solitude and sing with abandon.”

These voices, Afghan journalist Hamina Adam told the France Culture radio channel, are “like the sign of life.”

The cheerful assurance of the women is nothing new. An all-female broadcasting service called Radio Begum has continued to connect women in much of Afghanistan semi-clandestinely. Its programs enable women to talk to each other on topics of health, family, and “religious issues from a female perspective.” A sister TV channel launched in March helps girls continue their education from home through the 12th grade.

These connections via broadcasts along with the social media posts affirm equality, compassion, and individual dignity – values largely missing in Taliban decrees. One possible effect is that over 70% of Afghan fathers whose eldest child is female said human rights must be a national priority, according to a survey by the University of Massachusetts conducted after the Taliban took over.

As Afghan women have turned to electronic media to avoid repression, this is echoed in lyrics from one popular song on social media: “Their boots might be on my neck. Or their fists to my face. But with our deep light inside, I will fight through this night.”