Ur dreams of a democratic fghanistan get shattered
2004, when the first free presidential lection took place in Afghanistan, I was a seventh-grade student. For my ountry, that election was the second t important step after enacting a new sive constitution to build a democ country. though I barely knew anything about g rights or participatory democracy, felt proud and powerful. I thought my ion and my vote mattered. Later, I ied at Kabul University, re I learned about democthe right to vote and freeof speech. I voted in 2014 2019 amid the risk of being ked by the Taliban. Back , for me, as a media student, g was not the only thing to felt it was my responsibility enly talk about its impore with pride. Posting on l media was another way to express elf and convince others to participate mocracy for future generations. 2015, I went to India to pursue a Masdegree in journalism at Jamia Millia ia in New Delhi. At Jamia, I saw peocross faiths and different identities isting. Living and studying in a democ and diverse environment gave me a m and a goal — working for a democ Afghanistan while preserving and hing its cultural values. Although I a job offer from All India Radio, I e to return home to realise these ms.
Kabul University, first as a teaching assistant and then a faculty member. Meeting and sharing thoughts with young students made me happy. I found them way more aware and enthusiastic about democratic values than many from my generation.
Meanwhile, we also witnessed corruption and rivalries among the different warlords sharing power. However, most of us thought this was part of a transition from decades of war and despotic rule of the Taliban. Even as war continued in the countryside, we kept hoping for peace and stability. I did not lose hope even when bomb blasts and suicide attacks killed people closer home in Kabul. Even the deadly attack on Kabul University last November, which killed 32 people, did not dampen our resolve. Just two days after the attack, while everyone was still traumatised, the university resumed classes. We wore black to express our grief and to show our determination.
Such acts of solidarity and defiance also made me realise that I was not the only one rooting for a democratic Afghanistan. Almost everyone my age has a similar story. The new generation of Afghanistan, those who went to schools and universities after 2001, and took part in elections, thought it could build a society that would set an example for other nations around us. We were confident and were counting on our partners in the international community: Europeans, Americans, Indians, Arab nations, and others who came to our
Do not get me wrong. We were not expecting sympathy. Our confidence was pragmatic and based on a common interest. Afghans have been fighting a war on behalf of the world — the war on terrorism. The world had no choice but to stand by our side. This is what we hoped for. The international community did take some initiatives but ultimately we were left to fend for ourselves.
Afghans were horrified when Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States (US) Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, signed the Doha agreement with the Taliban in February 2020. The US kept the elected government of Afghanistan out of this deal. It also treated the Taliban as a parallel government. Soon, the Taliban cow, Tehran, and Beijing. Our biggest disappointment is not the departure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces from Afghanistan; it is the treatment of the Taliban by the international community as a legitimate force, equating it with Afghanistan’s elected government.
While the Taliban is gaining more territory inside the country and gaining political leverage abroad, many of us live in the fear of being executed. We stand vulnerable to the atrocities of the Taliban. Why? Because we dream of a democratic society. Because we refuse to live under a regime of terror.