Thursday, 9 March 2023

International Women’s Day

Nicholas McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:55): As the two Ukrainian pilots pushed the throttle forward the ageing Beechcraft battered down the runway. Without warning the nose of the plane lifted abruptly into the clear blue sky, swirling well above Kabul. I was on my way to recuperate for a few days and take a break from my United Nations post in Kabul, a place I proudly called home. I am a long way from Kabul, and yet the plight of Afghans is a passion that will remain with me for a lifetime. As I speak, International Women’s Day has just come to a close by some 3 hours. It is with much sorrow that I report to this house the alarming deterioration in the conditions and rights of women and girls. In Afghanistan today women and girls must cover their faces in public. Women should only leave their homes in case of necessity. Some are allowed to go to work but only in the company of a male. Girls have been forbidden from going to secondary schools in many provinces. They have banned any girls above sixth grade from education other than religious education, and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs has been abolished. I did not eat cupcakes yesterday, and I do not mind that others did. I support International Women’s Day, but the sad truth is every day should be women’s day. We only need to ask the women and girls of Afghanistan.