This Afghan says Canada is abandoning her in a country where it feels like it's a 'mistake' to be a woman
Appeal made to Carney after endorsement for special immigration program proves futile
"They make you feel that it is a mistake to be a woman in Afghanistan."
Those are the words of a young woman in Kabul describing life in the Afghan capital five years after the chaotic exit of U.S.-led NATO troops made way for the return of Taliban rule in August 2021.
Since then, under the fundamentalist dictates of the self-declared Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, roughly 22 million women and girls have witnessed what rights they did enjoy stripped away.
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they → say → rights
"It started with a ban on schools, then going to markets, going to travel, then jobs, universities," said the woman.
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woman → start → travel
"[It feels] like you have to get permission to breathe even."
To protect her from any potential repercussions from this interview or for her previous work for Canadian-funded projects in Afghanistan, I will refer to her as X.
Over the past five years, the Taliban have issued dozens of edicts aimed at suppressing women.
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Taliban → feel → women
They are forbidden from being outside without a male guardian, from holding most jobs and studying beyond primary school.
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They → forbid → school
They're not allowed to visit parks or playgrounds or gyms or salons or even raise their voices in public.
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They → allow → public
A report this summer by UN Women, the UN body dedicated to gender equality, found that half of Afghan women surveyed were only leaving their homes once or twice a month "because of severe restrictions on their movement and access to public spaces.
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half → dedicate → spaces
"
"[It's] like you're living at home [and] there are zombies outside," said X.
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you → live → home
"If we go outside, there are so many people that can attack us.
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that → go → us
"They can arrest us with just not wearing a proper hijab.
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They → arrest → hijab
If I go like this outside, they will not allow me for one second," she said, referring to the light headscarf she was wearing during our video call, her face exposed.
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face → go → call
Pain and disappointment
It is a suffocating reality for all Afghan women, but for X it has an added layer of pain and disappointment.
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it → have → pain
Before the Western exodus from Afghanistan, she worked for aid organizations funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC), implementing Ottawa's Afghanistan objectives, which included the empowerment of women and girls.
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which → work → women
Hers was a public-facing role in the community.
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Hers → face → community
That work put her at risk when the Taliban took over.
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Taliban → put → risk
The work also meant she was entitled to apply for the Special Immigration Measures Program (SIMs) for Afghans who assisted the government of Canada introduced in July 2021, which she did, along with thousands of others.
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she → mean → others
A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said Friday that the country has welcomed 65,540 Afghans under all immigration streams, including the SIMs program, since August 2021.
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country → say → August
Within those numbers, Canada has approved 16,560 applications out of 20,605 received for the SIMs program, resulting in 16,525 arrivals to Canada, the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → approve → Canada
One of the requirements was an endorsement by GAC or the Department of National Defence stating that the individual in question had an "enduring relationship with Canada."
X was given that endorsement.
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X → state → endorsement
"I can assure you that your application has been deemed eligible and referred to the relevant authorities at IRCC," a development officer from GAC's Afghanistan program wrote to her.
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officer → assure → her
"I can personally confirm that your case has been given the full endorsement of GAC."
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case → confirm → GAC
Despite that, X was never issued an invitation to formally apply to the program from IRCC.
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X → issue → IRCC
She was still waiting for that invitation in the fall of 2023 when I first interviewed her remotely for a story about life under the Taliban.
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I → wait → Taliban
She had received a reply of receipt to her request for the SIMs program on Aug. 6, 2021, as the Taliban advanced on Kabul.
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Taliban → receive → Kabul
A year later, after having enquired to the status of her SIMs application more than once, she received a response telling her that because she had not been issued an invitation to apply by IRCC, her application had been cancelled.
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application → enquire → IRCC
My own inquiries to GAC over her situation and the system in general went unanswered.
Where did the applications go?
X wasn't alone.
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X → go → situation
In 2022, the NDP's immigration critic at the time, MP Jenny Kwan, alleged that the government had lost 2,900 SIMs applications.
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government → allege → applications
There is also anecdotal evidence of others having their applications disappear into a bureaucratic black hole.
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applications → be → hole
One retired Canadian colonel seeking to assist local support staff for the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan has said applications were lost or unacknowledged in an overwhelmed IRCC system.
"I really didn't think that I will have been left behind," X said in our recent conversation.
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X → seek → conversation
"I had expectations that the government of Canada would have helped me."
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government → have → me
The sense of abandonment adds to the weight she and many other Afghans feel toward the outside world after the collapse of the Western-backed government in Kabul.
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she → add → Kabul
For X, it led to depression, with sleep a symptom of, and a coping mechanism for, that depression.
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sleep → lead → depression
The shock of seeing her future so abruptly stunted and the value of her past accomplishments erased is still with her.
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value → see → her
"The mental wellness is a joke [in Afghanistan]," she said.
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she → say → Afghanistan
"I do not only think about myself.
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I → think → myself
I think about every girl who is staying at home right now."
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who → think → home
A few connections to the outside world
X lives a more privileged life than many Afghans.
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X → live → Afghans
Her family can afford the internet, which offers at least a window on the outside world.
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which → afford → world
And she has continued to study statistics online.
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she → continue → statistics
She lives with elderly parents and a sister but has a married sister living in the U.S. and a brother in Canada who X says assumed she would be able to join him through the SIMs program.
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she → live → program
Her father's poor health has meant he is rarely able to act as guardian or mahram for the women in the household when they need or want to go out.
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they → mean → household
…and 17 more, not listed.
