No Place For Me

Written by Asma Faraz

Afghanistan is a multicultural and multiethnic country. As such, a governance system that embraces diversity, and allows its citizens to live happily together in solidarity, regardless of their social and political views, is needed.

If the Taliban or other similar groups try to exclude certain ethnic groups and marginalize women, they will never succeed.

Right now, there is no place for me in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, because I am a woman, I work with Americans, and I am from an ethnic group that is different from one with which the Taliban are mostly affiliated.

A government that represents only one group of people cannot last long. People will stand up against them—as seen from the recent women marches throughout Kabul. Of course, peace is a priority, but freedom is a need as well.

There are many foreign reporters writing about how safely they can now travel around Afghanistan, but they never report on how the Afghans inside the country feel. They are living in a fearful society; a tyranny. 

To prevent another civil war, the Taliban must take responsibility to care for all Afghans and work towards an inclusive government that accepts and respects ethnic and cultural diversity. 

In the past twenty years, we have learned that an overly-centralized governance system is not the right solution. Democratic decentralization, where power is dispersed and every citizen participates in and benefits from the government equitably, could be the long-term solution.