Mònica Bernabé: “Why does no Catalan university offer online classes and study scholarships to Afghan women?”

“The West will only take an interest in Afghanistan again if it sees our physical integrity in danger,” stressed ARA journalist Mònica Bernabé in a talk for subscribers at the Sala de les Sirenes in Barcelona's Hotel Espanya. Bernabé criticized “the cynicism and hypocrisy with which the international community acts in Afghanistan”.

Mònica Bernabé knows this Asian country very well. She lived there for almost eight years, between 2006 and 2014, and travels there often. She founded and presided over the Association for Human Rights in Afghanistan (ASDHA) to help Afghan women, which was dissolved in 2016. "We ran out of funds, and it became increasingly difficult to obtain grants to finance projects in Afghanistan. It ceased to be a priority territory for international aid. Furthermore, with the increase in kidnappings, having a person hired in the country was a risk," explains Bernabé, who has been head of the International section of the newspaper ARA and is now dedicated to writing investigative reports there.

Bernabé traveled to Afghanistan in the month of August and, as a result of this stay, has written several reports for ARA, which have complemented the chronicles that Afghan journalist Madina Ayar writes from Kabul. On this occasion, Bernabé was struck by people's fear of talking to her, even though she was conducting interviews in private homes and "most Afghans talk a lot".

"Women are dressed in a black tunic, black headscarf and a mask. This works in my favor: I dress like them and go unnoticed".

"The Taliban regime wants to sell a certain openness: they are trying to bring in tourism –even though the country is very damaged after forty years of war–, they are not banning the media... but if you speak ill of them, you can have serious problems," she stated. And they continue to belittle half of the population: women. One of the most serious facts is the prohibition on girls and young women going to school. At the talk, Bernabé showed a video of a wedding in Afghanistan, where waiters run to serve the dishes. But what catches your attention most is something else: the bride looks miserable. It is clear: most marriages are arranged. Many couples have not seen each other before the wedding, or at most once or twice accompanied by their parents.

"The Taliban have created a morality police, who stop women if they consider they are not dressed properly. That is why girls do not leave the house. Some only do so to go to study at the madrasa (Islamic school). The solution for girls is to get married, and thus they form a family, an institution that is considered very important. Since there is no retirement, children are responsible for supporting their parents when they are old."

A few online education initiatives have emerged from abroad for Afghan women. But they are from associations, from private initiatives... No country has shown interest in providing an educational proposal for Afghan girls. They are desperate, looking for alternatives. "Has any Catalan university promoted online classes? Or opened scholarships for Afghan girls, as has been done for Ukrainians?", Mònica Bernabé denounced.

On the other hand, she also highlighted that it is very difficult for Afghans to leave the country. When the Taliban came to power in 2021, Western countries closed their embassies. Only Japan has an embassy. Afghans who want to travel to the West must first travel to a neighboring country, if they can obtain a visa ($4,000 on the black market), and girls must leave accompanied by a close male relative.

"The West has abandoned Afghanistan. Simply put, this country is not on the international agenda. The government, Parliament, and the Afghan judiciary did not function during the twenty years of international presence in Afghanistan. The only thing that worked back then was the army. That is why the country collapsed and the Taliban gained power when international troops withdrew. Currently, the Taliban are the ones who control the government and the judiciary, and they themselves also act as police and army. They control everything. There are no separate powers," asserts Bernabé. "The Taliban seized the weapons that the Afghan police and army had, provided by the West. Now they have more weapons and strength than ever: helicopters, drones, armored vehicles...".

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