In between speeches, they blasted music. Women stood and spoke alongside men. These things, Afghans in Afghanistan cannot do.
Three dozen Afghans gathered in Lafayette Park to demonstrate on Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House, while tourists ambling by watched with curiosity and office workers hurried past. As more Afghans arrived, they greeted each other warmly, with handshakes and hugs.
The Afghan diaspora settling in the Washington, D.C. area were drawn together on the third anniversary of the Taliban’s ascension to power to wave the flag of an erstwhile republic and ask the American public not to forget.
Afghans gathered in Lafayette Square to demonstrate against the Taliban and in support of Afghan women. Photo by Catherine Putz.
“I want to talk to the American people,” Javid Hamdard said when his turn to speak came. “Do you know what happened on September 11, 2001? Do you still remember?”
In English, Dari, and Pashto, several Afghans – both men and women – stepped forward to address the crowd. Their messages were clear, yet complex: Sorrow mixed with hope; a sense of betrayal paired with deep gratitude. Chants of “no to the Taliban!” and “women’s rights are human rights!” cut between the speeches and the music.
Ultimately, the Afghans demanded attention from the American people. More than sympathy, they desire action.
Starting off the speeches, Spouzhmai Akberzai said that since August 15, 2021, “women and men across Afghanistan have faced devastating consequences.”
“Today we are here not just to remember that painful moment in history but to take action. We are here to raise our voices for those who have been silenced, to demand accountability from the global community, and to support our fellow Afghan women and men in their fight for freedom.”
The plight of Afghan women served as a throughline, standing as a testament to what had been built in Afghanistan since 2001, and all that has been destroyed since 2021.
Gesturing at the White House, Hamdard asked, “Do you not ask your politicians: why did they betray you? Do you not ask your politicians, who told you they would not negotiate with terrorists, why they negotiated with terrorists?”
“We were betrayed by the politicians of America. We were betrayed by the politicians of the world. And we were betrayed by our own politicians,” Hamdard said.
He noted also the immense gratitude Afghans have for the United States, and for the Americans with whom they stood shoulder-to-shoulder. But, he added, “most of these people, as much as we love this country and we are grateful to the American people… we are all homesick.”
Referencing a previous speaker, who gave an impassioned speech in Dari – becoming emotional toward the end, prompting her fellow Afghans to move to her side in comfort – Hamdard said, “The girl who was just talking here, she was one of the 19 prisoners of the Taliban. And her only sin, her only mistake: She wanted to live like an equal human being in her own country.”
Marjan Amiri speaks passionately. Photo by Catherine Putz.
That woman, Marjan Amiri, had been detained by the Taliban in February 2022 – not long after she was featured in a Wall Street Journal article profiling the Afghan women brave enough to defy not only the Taliban but, as in her case, their own fathers to protest in the streets of Kabul. After a year, she was released and made her way, eventually, to the United States.
Speaking to The Diplomat, Amiri explained the difficulty she wrestled with in trying to find her voice, balancing the risks of speaking up against the weight of staying silent.
“I am in a situation here where I cannot go ahead and I cannot go back. I cannot stand up and I cannot be silent. So between all these challenges, I am trying and I am struggling to stand up and be the bridge between the people of Afghanistan and those who are here.”
To the women of Afghanistan, Amiri said, “Continue your struggle and your resilience. You are the heroes, you are the champions, and we are here to raise your voice.”
Sadiq Amini, who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul through the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and organized the demonstration, concluded the event with a five-point call to action addressed to the U.S. and the international community, urging the recognition of the Taliban as as terrorist group and the cessation of all engagement with the Taliban.
Instead, Amini urged, “engage with the people of Afghanistan, who can be represented as an interim measure through women leaders, civil society, and youth leaders in exile until circumstances allow for the the emergence of elected leaders.”
Third, Amini demanded that the United States and the international community recognize the gender apartheid in Afghanistan formally, calling out the systematic oppression of women and girls and prompting action, and fourth, he called for democratic elections in Afghanistan.
Finally, Amini urged the U.S. to allow the re-opening of Afghanistan’s embassy in Washington, D.C. under the stewardship of a caretaker assigned by the Afghan-American community. “The embassy does not belong to any government, rather it belongs to the people of Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora in the United States.”
Concluding, Amini said that “these actions go beyond opposing oppression, they affirm the United States and the international community’s unwavering commitment to the value of freedom, democracy, and human dignity for all Afghans.”