The Laren Ineke Hilhorst tries with all his might to save the Afghan women’s rights activist Sedad (not her real name) from the capital Kabul. Sedad is hiding in an Afghan shelter, because she is not safe from the Taliban. In the radio program NH Throw Saturday Ineke tells how it is going.
Sedad is now 21 years old and almost graduated in economist. Ineke read an interview with her in a newspaper article, just before the Americans left Afghanistan. “I was touched by her story and via social media I wanted to wish her strength. I strongly support these oppressed women. These women in Afghanistan are completely back to square one,” says Ineke. “I also wanted to warn her against using social media because if I can find her, the Taliban can find her.”
go into hiding
This also resulted in a message that Ineke received from Sedad in the middle of the night. “She said that the Taliban had taken over everything in the province she came from and that they had even banged on her door. She fled through the back door through the garden to go into hiding.”
Then Ineke decided to try to get her to safety. She first advised Sedad to flee to Kabul, where it would be much easier to go into hiding. “In the countryside, everyone knows each other,” she explains. “Then I approached a journalist and some organizations that could help her go into hiding in a safehouse.”
Evacuate
Ineke first tried to evacuate Sedad to the Netherlands through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This turned out to be impossible because she had not collaborated with Dutch organizations and therefore did not qualify. “That was very unfortunate.”
“I’m sitting here from my pleasant living environment advising someone to flee”
But the Afghan had collaborated a lot with foreign NGOs, so Ineke tried this route. However, these had left Afghanistan themselves fairly soon after the departure of the Americans and could mean little to nothing for Sedad.
Germany
One bright spot was the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “They responded extremely efficiently and thoroughly.” Now there is a chance that the women’s rights activist can evacuate to Germany. “That’s what I hope and pray for, so to speak.”
After a long wait, Sedad and her family now have a passport, but they are still waiting for a visa. “This is one of the last steps.” Ineke will continue until Sedad is brought to safety. “I’m sitting here from my pleasant living environment advising someone to flee, but I feel the responsibility to do this.” Once Sedad is in Germany, Ineke definitely wants to meet her in person.
Listen back to the entire interview with Ineke via this link†