Threatened with death and treated like a prostitute: The reports of an activist arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan – Current Affairs

It is with several traumas that Roqia Saee remembers the period she was imprisoned in Afghanistan. Widow and mother of two children, the activist was unable to accept the direction of the country after the Taliban regained power. Aware that women and girls would have fewer and fewer rights, she participated in numerous protests against the regime and was detained twice, once in 2022 and once in 2023. In both situations she was subjected to physical and psychological torture that guarantees that she will never to forget. Now in exile in Germany, she shares some details about the time she spent at the hands of the Taliban.

On December 22, 2022, Roqia Saee joined other Afghan women in Dehbori, Kabul, to demand that the Taliban give them back their right to education and employment. When the demonstration began, Taliban security forces arrived and began attacking everyone. The women dispersed and Roqia got into a taxi, but they chased her and caught her.

“They hit my left ear with their fists. At that moment, I felt my eardrum burst and I felt dizzy. After that, I couldn’t resist and got into their vehicle”, says Rogia, quoted by El País.

The Afghan woman was taken, along with four other protesters, to a police station. “I was blindfolded, my hands were tied and cold water was poured over me before the interrogation began,” she explains.

After being interrogated several times, Rogia was subjected to physical and psychological torture. “They asked me terrifying questions, beat me, put a gun to my head and threatened to shoot me. My head was spinning, my hands and feet were shaking, I couldn’t move and I was terrified. “, he recalls.

As soon as she was no longer interrogated, the activist was confined to a cell that had a mattress, a blanket and a pillow. Privacy did not exist, as the cell had a video surveillance camera.

Rogia recalls that throughout the period she was imprisoned, the Taliban addressed her in a derogatory way “Although they knew my name, they never used it during interrogations. They always referred to me as a prostitute”, she says.

According to the El País, four days later, Rogia was released on the condition that she not speak about her detention nor go out into the streets to protest again. Despite the fear and threats, the activist felt she could not remain silent and so on March 26, 2023 she joined another protest in Kabul against the closure of secondary schools for Afghan girls.

The police charged the women and Rogia was detained again. This time for less time, as a day later she was released. She says that she was forced to record a video in which she admitted to having committed a crime and refused to explain the details of how it happened.

Currently in Germany, Rogia feels safe, but confesses that there are “invisible wounds that remain open” from that time.

“I often woke up screaming because of nightmares. I took medication for a long time, but it was impossible to sleep more than two hours at a time”, he explains.