By Ana Cárdenes
Madrid, Mar 21 (EFE).- Afghan journalist and activist Khadija Amin, now living in Spain after fleeing Taliban rule, denounces the burqa as a tool of oppression and urges the international community not to abandon women in Afghanistan.
Amin does not hesitate. She does not speak of respecting cultural differences, nor does she call for understanding of traditions she considers oppressive. Nor, she says, does religion justify them.
“The burqa is a prison made of fabric. You can’t even breathe in it, and it should be banned,” she told EFE in an interview.
The 33-year-old Afghan journalist, women’s rights activist, and survivor of domestic abuse, once a prime-time news presenter on Afghan national television before the Taliban returned to power, now lives as a refugee in Spain, where she has rebuilt her life since 2021.
“As a Muslim woman, I can say that women do not wear the burqa because of religion,” she said. “They wear it because it is imposed on them by husbands and families.”
Amin was forced into marriage at 19, compelled to wear the burqa, and only managed to divorce her husband after six years. The decision cost her custody of her three children.
She recounts her story in the documentary “Where Are My Children?” (Movistar Plus+) and in her book “Without a Veil: A Free Woman,” aiming to highlight both her own resilience and that of countless Afghan women facing similar circumstances.
In the documentary, she documents her painful search to regain custody of her children and seeks to leave a testimony for them.
“I used to record videos for my children because I wanted them to see, in the future, how their mother fought for them,” she said.
She decided to tell her story publicly after realizing it reflects “the story of thousands of Afghan women who have suffered or are suffering vicarious violence.”
Amin argues that both the burqa and the niqab “should be banned everywhere possible.”
While acknowledging that change may not be feasible in some countries, she insists that bans elsewhere could prevent Afghan women from being forced to wear them even abroad.
“Women must know they are not alone”
In Spain, the issue has resurfaced following a proposal by the far-right party Vox to ban full-face veils in public spaces, an initiative rejected by Congress that reignited debate over religious freedom and public safety.
“I have never met a woman who truly feels comfortable wearing the burqa,” Amin said. She recalled meeting a woman in Europe who said she wore the niqab by choice.
“But the day her husband allowed her not to wear it, she took it off. She was happy and admitted she had stayed silent out of respect for him, because she felt she had to obey him.”
Although she initially supported the proposed ban—backed by Vox and the conservative People’s Party, Amin now considers it a secondary issue in Spain.
“Very few women wear it here,” she said, adding that far more urgent concerns affect women, particularly in Afghanistan.
Amin, who founded the Esperanza de Libertad Association to defend Afghan women’s rights, urges the international community not to forget those still living under Taliban rule.
“The situation for women and girls in Afghanistan is getting worse. The international community has abandoned us—and that hurts,” she said. “How is it possible that they forget what is happening, that they do not act?”
She noted that March 21 marks the start of the school year in Afghanistan, “and it will be another year without girls above sixth grade being allowed to attend school.”
Now awaiting a decision on her application for Spanish nationality, submitted in October, Amin hopes it will help her gain further support, particularly from German authorities, in her ongoing effort to locate her children, aged 11 and 9.
Reflecting on her journey, she underscores her hard-won independence.
“I am an independent woman. I have rights. I decide my life, how I dress, whether I wear makeup, whether I go out,” she said.
“Women must be strong. We have to keep fighting for our rights and learn to ask for help. Too often, out of fear, we remain silent. But women must know they are not alone.” EFE
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