BAHARAN LAHIB

Afghanistan-  The National Interest published an article by Cheryl Benard, the wife of Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US Special Envoy for Peace in Afghanistan, on May 20, 2025. The article titled “Afghan Refugees Should Not Fear Repatriation” sparks outrage among Afghan women’s activists and women’s organizations.

“Claiming that Afghanistan is safe is an insult to the suffering and identity of Afghan women,” said Yalda Ahmed, a psychologist and women's rights activist in Afghanistan.

“Cheryl Barnard's recent statements have sparked anger among women around the world, especially Afghan women, who have been oppressed by the Taliban for more than three years.”

Yalda Ahmed criticized Cheryl Benard and said, “In Afghanistan, women, most of them are the only breadwinner of their family, do not have jobs, are not allowed to study and live in poverty. Every day, they face a new ban imposed on them by the Taliban. The latest laws introduced by the Taliban ban women from speaking or showing their faces in public.”

Yalda Ahmed also spoke about the struggle of Afghan women and said, “Afghan women are aware of everything. They are not deceived by those who claim that the Taliban have changed and respected women’s rights. Afghan women know very well that the struggle is our only salvation. That is why they are arrested and tortured. They are determined to struggle in order to liberate their country from the Taliban by risking their lives.”