Mollie Tant
About Mollie Tant
Posts by Mollie Tant:
Afghan UK Community Event ~ Education & Mentoring for Women in Afghanistan
We’re excited to host, alongside the South London United Nations Association (SLUNA), our next UK Afghan community event.
Event details:
Date – Friday 1st December 2023
Time – 7:30 PM – 21:15 PM
Location – The Community Church, Werter Road, London, SW15 2LL
Expect a mix of Afghan and vegetarian food, engaging conversation, and an update on the current context by Rahela Sidiqi. Rahela is the Founder & Director of Rahela Trust and dedicated women’s rights activist.
Please note – due to limited capacity, we kindly request you register for the event in advance. Participation is on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage you to respond promptly to secure your spot.
While the event is free to attend, we invite our guests to bring a vegetarian dish [that doesn’t require warming] to share with fellow attendees. Some of the delicious offerings already promised include stuffed vine leaves, cheese & onion quiche, tabbouleh, and shir berenj.
To confirm your attendance and contribute a dish, kindly send us an email with your name and details of the vegetarian food item you can bring.
Once we receive your confirmation, we will promptly share the event agenda and all relevant information.
We very much hope you’ll be able to join us on Friday 1st December!
Download the event programme here —>
Call for Scholarship Applications 2023
اعلان بورسیه تحصیلی راحله ترست برای زنان افغان
راحله ترست با همکاری دانشگاه گوهَرشاد قرار است تا بورسیه‌های آنلاین لیسانس برای زنان افغان واجد شرایط که در حال تحصیل در مقاطع لسانس، ارائه دهد. این سازمان در سال 2015 توسط فعال حقوق زنان افغان، خانم راحله صدیقی، تأسیس شد و در تاریخ 26 فوریه 2016 در انگلستان به طور رسمی به ثبت رسید. راحله ترست یک سازمان خیریه مستقر در انگلستان است که هدف آن توانمندسازی زنان افغان از طریق تحصیل، به ویژه زنان مواجه با موانعی چون خشونت‌های مبتنی بر جنسیت و فقر است.
از طریق این بورسیه، دانشجویان منتخب یک کمک هزینه، یک دستگاه موبایل و یک لپ‌تاپ برای حمایت از تحصیل خود دریافت خواهند کرد. راحله ترست همچنین قصد دارد این برنامه را به دیگر ولایت‌ها و مؤسسات آموزشی گسترش دهد تا دسترسی به تحصیلات عالی برای زنان افغان در سراسر کشور افزایش یابد.
معیارهای واجد شرایط بودن برای بورسیه تحصیلی راحله ترست
متقاضیان باید شرایط زیر را داشته باشند:
- دختران در داخل افغانستان، در سنین بین 18 تا 30 سال
- داشتن نمره A (70-100%) در مکتب
- در حال حاضر در تحصیلات عالی ثبت‌نام شده اما به دلیل مشکلات مجبور به ترک تحصیل شده‌اند
- از خانواده‌ای با تاریخچه مستند از خشونت و/یا سوءاستفاده (که توسط یک سازمان طرف ثالث مانند یک سازمان مدنی یا NGO زنان تأیید شود
- ) نیازمند مالی، فاقد منابع کافی برای ادامه تحصیل
- داشتن تعهد قوی به تحصیل و آرزوی تحصیلات عالی
- متعهد به حمایت از سایر زنان و مبارزه با تبعیض جنسیتی
- معرفی شده توسط یک مؤسسه همکار یا یک NGO
فرآیند درخواست
داوطلبان علاقه‌مند باید فرم درخواست(الزامی) را دانلود کرده (لینک موجود است)، آن را به صورت الکترونیکی پر کرده و به همراه تذکره، شهادت نامه مکتب که نشان دهنده نمرات سه سال اخیر و هر گونه مستندات پشتیبانی اضافی (اختیاری) به آدرس‌های ایمیل زیر ارسال کنند:
To: farzanamohammadi1000@gmail.com
CC: info@rahelatrust.org
یا می توانند یک نسخه چاپی از فرم درخواست(application form) از دفتر اداری دانشگاه گوهَرشاد بدست بیاورند.
مهلت ارسال: ساعت 4 بعد از ظهر به وقت افغانستان، 15 دسامبر 2024
لطفاً توجه داشته باشید که درخواست‌های ناقص یا درخواست‌هایی که بعد از مهلت مقرر ارسال شوند، بررسی نخواهند شد.
اطلاعات تماس تلفن: +93 797 911 807
Announcement in English
Announcement of Rahela Trust Scholarship for Afghan Women
Rahela Trust has partnered with Gawharshad University to offer online Bachelor’s scholarships for eligible Afghan women pursuing higher education. Founded by Afghan women’s rights activist Rahela Sidiqi in 2015, Rahela Trust is a UK-based charity officially registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on February 26, 2016. The Trust is dedicated to empowering Afghan women through education, especially those facing obstacles such as gender-based violence and poverty.
Through this scholarship initiative, selected students will receive a stipend, a mobile device, and a laptop to support their studies at Gawharshad University. Rahela Trust also aims to expand this program to other provinces and educational institutions, furthering access to higher education for Afghan women throughout the country.
Eligibility Criteria for the Rahela Trust Scholarship
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Female, residing in Afghanistan, aged between 18 and 30
- Achieved an A grade (70-100%) in secondary school
- Currently registered in higher education but had to drop out due to challenges
- Comes from a family with a documented history of violence and/or abuse (to be verified by a third-party organization, such as a CSO or women’s NGO)
- Financially deprived, lacking sufficient resources to continue education
- Demonstrates a strong commitment to education and high academic ambition
- Committed to supporting other women and fighting against gender discrimination
- Recommended by a Partner Institution or an NGO
Application Process
- Interested candidates should download the application form (link provided), complete it electronically(mandatory), and submit it along with their Tazkira, school transcript, and any additional supporting documents (optional) to the following email addresses:
- To: farzanamohammadi1000@gmail.com
- CC: info@rahelatrust.org
Alternatively, a hard copy of the application form is available at the Gawharshad University admin office.
Submission Deadline: 4:00 pm Afghanistan time, December 15, 2024
Please note that incomplete applications or those received after the deadline will not be considered.
Contact Information
Phone: +93 797 911 807
A Scholar Meets Her Mentor
Today, we celebrate a heartwarming meeting as Amina AKA “Amina Hundred”, one of our very first scholars, meets our Founder and Director, Rahela Sidiqi in Istanbul, in the flesh, after eight incredible years.
Over these eight years, Rahela has worn many hats. She’s Amina’s mentor, an educational guide, and a cheerleader, witnessing Amina securing her first job in journalism. Later, when the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Rahela supported Amina’s evacuation from the country as her life was under threat. She is now on a temporary journalistic program in Kosovo hosted by the Government of Kosovo and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo.
Amina, now a seasoned journalist, continues to inspire us with her achievements, determination, and resilience.
While in Istanbul, Amina will be embarking on a media work exchange with Omid International UK.
Education, mentoring, and believing in women’s potential – these are powerful forces, and this is an example of their impact.
The Woman & Girls Match Fund 2023
Despite marking two years since the Taliban banned women’s education in Afghanistan, we aren’t giving up hope. Our belief that positive change is still possible has earned us a spot in The Big Give’s Woman & Girls Match Fund 2023.
Some key information:
- Between Wednesday 11th October to Wednesday 18th October, Rahela Trust aims to raise £5,000.
- This £5,000 will be match funded by The Big Give.
- That means one donation brings TWICE the impact.
- Funds will be matched up to our £5,000 target. Any funds raised over the £5,000 target will still go towards Afghan women’s education through scholarships and mentoring, but will not be matched by The Big Give.
- To help make this happen, donations MUST be made through The Big Give Campaign page – the link to which will be shared with you via our website, social media and newsletters on launch day (Wednesday 11th October).
- We have one week to make this happen!
- £10,000 would enable us to provide MORE SCHOLARSHIPS, supporting FIVE more scholars and reaching 50 more women and children through community initiatives.
Why does this all matter?
- Women have been banned from education. This is not right. Their fight is a global fight – for equality, for dignity.
- THANKFULLY, due to our size and connections in-country, our scholars are still able to study, receive mentoring and retain hope.
- We’ve been providing talented Afghan women with Afghan university scholarships since 2016. Supporting us allows you to directly provide young Afghan women with an education, helping to create future local leaders for a more progressive and equitable future in Afghanistan.
- This campaign doesn’t just help individual scholars. Between 2022 – 2023, our scholars reached 370 women and children through their community initiatives.
We need your support to provide more scholarships!
⭐️ Share this campaign with your friends, family and network, and ask them to share with theirs too.
⭐️ Follow us on social media and repost our messages about this campaign.
⭐️ Download the social media campaign assets below so you can run your own campaign to support ours! Feel free to email our Development Officer Mollie Tant if you’d like more information about this.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive key reminders, live updates, and exclusive case studies throughout the campaign.
2 Years Since the Taliban Takeover
Today marks two years since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.
Our work providing university scholarships and mentoring to women in Afghanistan continues. Afghan women are not deterred from fighting for their rights and they do this in so many ways.
Today, alongside our partner The Circle NGO we shine a light on one of our scholars who continues to support her community by offering embroidery workshops to improve economic and mental wellbeing.
Anon RT Scholar: “There are so many ways I can help others in my daily life, and I thought, for a good cause, you don’t have to spend a lot of time and money. Small changes can have a big impact
At the time, I was thinking about what girls and mothers would do if schools were closed continuously, to combat the mental and economic problems and cultural problems that make girls marry underage. I settled on hand-embroidery lessons with very limited resources and taught girls hand-embroidery.”
Where there is education, there is hope and action.
Show your solidarity with Afghan women and girls and support the call for a Global Summit for Women and Girls by signing the global petition – here – and share to your network. You can repost on socials or use the campaign resources below.
You can also donate using the Support Us tab at the top of this page.
Campaign Resources
Afghan Supper Club Cancelled ~ August 2023
We are so excited to share that Cue Point (@cuepointldn), Cue Point Kitchen, and the Leko Collective have joined in collaboration with the team at temper Shoreditch (@temperrestaurant) – part of the temper restaurant group – to bring you the most delicious, intimate Afghan supper club you’ll find in London.
As well as a chance to enjoy the flavours of the finest Afghan dishes like Kabuli Pilau, you’ll be supporting Afghan women’s education as each ticket is a donation to Rahela Trust.
- Afghan Supper Club will take place on Monday 21st August
- between 6 PM and 10 PM
- at temper Shoredtich, (78 Great Eastern Street, London, EC2A 3JL)
- See the link here to buy your tickets (priced at £65.71)
August 2023 marks the two year anniversary of the Taliban takeover. Afghanistan is currently the only country in the world where it is government policy to ban women and girls from education and sports – a policy implemented by the Taliban after their coup in 2022. As before, Afghan women and girls find themselves on the front line of the global fight for women’s rights and equality.
A huge thank you to the below:
International Women’s Day 2023
On the 8th March 2023, co-working and cultural space Second Home came together with the Afghan diaspora-led magazine, Ariana hosted an event in London in celebration of International Women’s Day and to raise money for Rahela Trust. We saw an amazing group of people come together to support the people of Afghanistan, learn more about the current situation for women in Afghanistan, and celebrate Afghan culture.
The event opened with a speech from the host for the evening, Founder of Ariana Magazine, Ariana Abawe and a few words from Second Home’s Cultural Curator, Magdalena Moursy. The first presentation was from Afghan poet, Hadisa Hussain Afzaly who read her inspiring work in Farsi and then English. Second, we heard from our Founder and Director Rahela Sidiqi, who gave an update on the current situation in Afghanistan and the women we work with. Audiences were then lucky to witness a panel of incredible speakers, including a member of Afghanistan’s first women’s football team, Sabriah Nawrozi Mohseni who dreams of becoming a member of Manchester City’s Women’s Football team, Former Afghan Judge Marzia Babakarkhail and Blind Afghan disability rights activist and co-founder of Rahyab Organisation, Benafsha Yaqoobi and her husband, Mahdi Salami.
The night closed with a traditional rubab performance and fashion show, featuring clothes from MAC Store London and DELICIOUS food from Watani Box and Kulcha Kafe.
The whole event was captured on film by YouTube channel, Your Voice TV1, founded to help change the perception of Afghans and Afghanistan, to one that recognises Afghanistan’s positive, vibrant culture and brilliant people.
What was so special about this event was seeing people with a shared passion to free Afghan women meet, form new bonds and spark new ideas.
The event raised a £609 and put us in touch with some new long term supporters. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Rahela Trust’s AGM and Annual Lecture 2023
On Monday 27th February 2023, we hosted our AGM and Annual Lecture at the House of Lords. Talks centred around how women can access education and work in Afghanistan today.
The event was
chaired by Baroness Fiona Hodgson of Abginer, CBE, and we had four brilliant speakers including:
– Dr. Davood Moradian (Director of Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies, AISS)
– Forozan Rasooli (Afghan Women’s Rights Activist)
– Hameed Hakimi (Associate Fellow at Chatham House and Senior Fellow at Atlantic Council)
– Wahidullah Azizi (Anti-corruption & Social Activist)
– Marika Theros (Policy fellow and Peacerep’s Afghanistan Research Director, London School of Economics)
Wahid Azizi (Anti-corruption & social activist)
As well as an introductory speech written by Rahela Sidiqi and read by the Chairperson of Rahela Trust Samantha Rennie.
You can read the speech below.
Scroll to the bottom of this post to explore some of the other event materials.
The Current Situation of Women in Afghanistan.
The brutal reality of Afghan women being excluded from public life continues. Women have been banned from using parks, gyms, public bath houses; banned from most workplaces; and many restrictions are imposed on their movement and freedom. This is happening in line with the de-facto authorities’ interpretation of Sharia Law. Although some exceptions are considered for women health workers doing lifesaving work, the space for women to operate is extremely limited. This has ramifications for all Afghans. According to UN Women, many aid agencies have suspended their operations because it is too difficult for them to access families in need without female staff (UN Women, 2023). So an already grave humanitarian crisis is being made worse.
The most recent restriction has been on secondary and higher education: authorities have closed universities to female students until further notice and decreed that girls may no longer be enrolled in secondary schools.
In January 2023, UN deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, UN Executive Director Sima Bahous, and Assistant Secretary General for UN political, peace building and peace operations Khaled Khairi spent four days “fact-finding” and engaging with Afghanistan’s de-facto authorities to “underscore UN solidarity with the Afghan people.” They concluded that “What is happening in Afghanistan is a grave women’s right crisis and a wakeup call for the international community…. It shows how quickly decades of progress on women´s rights can be reversed in a matter of days.” (UNAMA, 2023; UN Women, 2023).
According to sources on the ground, the Taliban have been very strict in monitoring and enforcing their edicts since September 2021. Gradually, but systematically, space for adolescent females has disappeared. All school doors were closed to girls in all 28 provinces, and only six provinces are said to have re-opened primary schools for girls. Older girls were not allowed to sit the Concours examination. Mixed messages are now being sent from the technical and political branches of the de facto government, creating confusion about the future. It is impossible for local schools to make plans for the coming year, due to start in March – but it looks very unlikely that girls’ schools will re-open. According to grassroots information from around 100 partners involved in Education in Afghanistan there has been no evaluation or preparation for resuming secondary education.
Those who try to teach girls despite the restrictions face repercussions. According to local sources and social media, a female teacher was detained by the de-facto authorities because she had set up a classroom in her house. She was six months pregnant when authorities arrested her.
The impact of these restrictions is hard to measure, but a few examples from news stories give a sense of how desperate they are making people. There is a girl from GhuJaan village in the Raghestan District of Badakhshan who, according to the local HashtSubh News, recently committed suicide. It is unclear why – There could be any other reason but the most common reason at present is Taliban abuse, force marriage or anxiety of not being able to continue her education or being able to work. Did she lose all hope for the future? We can only guess. There is the story of Nargis Sadat, who was arrested recently for protesting peacefully against the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s rights. And last month there was a news report that a ten-year-old girl was killed by the Taliban in Kabul.
These are just a few examples of Taliban violence against women, directly and indirectly,but there are certainly hundreds more all over the country. Female citizens have no human rights.
Despite all this suffering, there some signs of hope are being reported by people on the ground:
– It is said that the Ministry of Education wants to hire six women as national technical advisers;
– The same Ministry has agreed to distribute forty million text books based on those used five years ago;
– Local distribution of text books for seven to twelve year olds girls is allowed;
– Thirteen thousand female teachers from secondary school are still receiving their salaries;
– The Ministry of Education is allowing community-based education: there were 7,000 classes in July, which rose to 22,000 in February, and 20% of the classes were for adolescents.
In conclusion, it is obvious that, from the moment when the Taliban took over on August 15, 2021, women’s most basic rights have been systematically violated. BBC Persian has broken down Taliban restrictions on women into four main areas: exclusion from politics; restriction of activities in public spaces; restriction of continuing education; and restrictions on the right to work. These are all in contradiction to the promises the Taliban made to the international community (BBC Persian, 2023).
Nonetheless, Afghan women continue to defend their basic rights.In the International Day of Social Justice, which used to take place on 20th February, a number of Afghan women and youth protested against injustice in Afghan society and asked the international community not to not abandon them (VOA, 2023).
We list the most urgent issues here:
– No right to education for females
– Restriction of free movement and severely constrained dress codes
– Lack of legal protection for females whose rights are violated
– Increase rates of child marriage because of poverty
– Severely limited opportunities for females to work
– Women’s rights activists under pressure
– Women have been removed from the political and social arena.
– Harsh discrimination against LGBTQ community
Our key recommendation is that all the points above, which are restricting women’s lives, are gender persecution and must be lifted.
References:
BBC Persian (2023) ۲۰فرمان طالبان به‌طور سیستماتیک زنان را محدود کرده است, BBC News فارسی. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/persian/articles/cy0kld42xexo (Accessed: 21 February 2023).
UN Women (2023) ‘Afghanistan: Top UN delegation tells Taliban to end confinement, deprivation, abuse of women’s rights’, UN Women Sverige, 22 January. Available at: https://www.unwomen.se/afghanistan-top-un-delegation-tells-taliban-to-end-confinement-deprivation-abuse-of-womens-rights/ (Accessed: 21 February 2023).
UNAMA, N. (2023) UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s press conference upon her return from Afghanistan, UNAMA. Available at: https://unama.unmissions.org/un-deputy-secretary-general-amina-mohammed%E2%80%99s-press-conference-upon-her-return-afghanistan (Accessed: 21 February 2023).
VOA (2023) روز جهانی عدالت اجتماعی؛ فعالان زن از بی‌عدالتی زیر سلطهٔ طالبان شکایت دارند, صدای امریکا. Available at: https://www.darivoa.com/a/afghan-women-compaints-from-lack-of-social-justice-in-afghanistan/6970807.html (Accessed: 21 February 2023).
In Response to the Taliban’s Latest Edict
A Message From Rahela Sidiqi - 20th January 2023
Rahela Trust responds to current situation and updates on activity.