As part of her two-week tour in South Africa, Nadima Noor, the Afghan-Canadian Humanitarian worker and founder of Dream Voice Act, has visited various areas in South Africa and has conducted interviews with multiple media outlets such as Salaamedia, Newzroom Afrika and most recently, SAfm.
In an interview with Cathy Mohlahlana, host of The Talking Point Show on SAfm, Noor reflects on her life in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Since her first interview with Salaamedia’s Mariam Mia, Noor has provided insight into Afghanistan’s challenges, the positive changes that the Taliban has made in society and the reality of women’s lives in her country.
Her interviews have provided alternative narratives to the Salaamedia listeners on the situation in Afghanistan. And now, she has the opportunity to continue sharing her experiences and knowledge with the rest of South Africa.
She aims for South Africans to build solidarity with the Afghan people, a fraternity born from understanding, love and empathy.
It’s time to focus on the future of Afghanistan, not the past
Current climate in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Since the Taliban regained control, the country has been sanctioned, had its finances frozen, had food shortages, and had to recover from the devastating earthquake that damaged homes and vital infrastructure.
But despite all the hardships and destruction caused by the occupiers, Noor states that the people of Afghanistan remain positive.
“They are hopeful,” she continues. “They are welcoming. They still wake up in the morning and go out and try to find work … Afghanistan people are still prospering”.
She states that Afghanistan’s beauty is repressed and that there is more to the country than what is disclosed to the global community. And now is the time to forget the past and present solutions, share ideas and carve a positive way forward for the Afghan people.
Afghanistan would welcome trade with South Africa
Contradicting views on Women’s Rights in Afghanistan
When asked about women’s rights, Noor stated that “rights” mean different things to different people and cannot be universally applied to all women.
For the West, it means one thing, and for women in Afghanistan, it means something else entirely.
“What you define in your daily life as progression, I might see it as repression. What you see in your daily life that you’re proud of, I might see it as, oh my god, why is she doing this? I think the first thing we need to clarify and understand is that we are all different communities. We have different upbringings, different religious belief systems, and I think first we need to separate that”, Noor said.
She continues to state that the world has used women as pawns and that they use women’s rights to attack Afghanistan politically.
Because women worldwide continue to face adversity in their society, it is not fair that the world uses women as a means to criticise Afghanistan.
“Afghan men are great men. They love their women, and they protect their women with the little bit that they have. But of course, to the world, the image that is put out of Afghanistan is that all the women are repressed, and we need to go to that country and save them.”
And even though Noor intends to empower the women of Afghanistan to create kinship amongst them. She maintains that she is not a feminist in the traditional sense, as the implementation of the word connotes hatred towards men, which does not align with her beliefs.
She believes that by empowering women, she is empowering the men and that the unity of her entire country is what is needed to lead Afghanistan into a more prosperous future.
“As women, the way the feminist movement is happening now. I feel it’s now become an agenda and the way things are set in the world in many countries. It’s almost like a war against men. I feel that, and I’m not against anyone. I am for love, I’m not fighting anything, I am creating love”, said Noor.
