Numerous advocates for women’s rights have been working behind the scenes for months – and more urgently since the Taliban takeover – to help human rights defenders get out of the country. But governments are doing little to help.
One striking example is reported by Ben Slater, a former British soldier, who says he helped one group of women’s rights activists to reach the border of a neighbouring country after they were unable to get into Kabul airport.
This author lobbied the Australian government on the women’s behalf. The government soon provided visas for the families with connections in Australia. Slater says others are eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Scheme in the UK and sent a list, which openDemocracy has seen, of these women to authorities in London. However, Slater says the British government failed to provide the necessary paperwork for the women and children in his care. They spent two days in a border zone that was at the time out of Taliban control; their fate is currently unknown but they certainly face grave danger.
