Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.
Lifestyle

Dad of Linda Norgrove says Afghanistan has ‘few glimmers of hope’ since Taliban rule

The father of aid worker Linda Norgrove, who was killed by the Taliban in 2010, is critical of how Britain has turned its back on millions of women and children in Afghanistan.
Neil Drysdale
Altnaharra-born aid worker Linda Norgrove was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.
Altnaharra-born aid worker Linda Norgrove was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.

It was one of the quickest collapses of any government in global history; the fall of Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan two years ago in August.

As the Taliban progressed to wrest back control and halt the democratic advances made in the previous two decades, they encountered almost no resistance. One witness to the dramatic events, Timor Sharan, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: “Shopping in the city today, I felt people were gripped by a sense of being stuck; stuck in an uncertain future and never able to dream, aspire, think, and believe anymore”.

Since then, following the departure of British, American and other Allied troops, most of the international headlines have been dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the consequences for the latter of Vladimir Putin’s illegal actions.

Rug pulled from under women’s feet

Yet, even as the war continues in Europe, John Norgrove has told the Press & Journal about the humanitarian disaster which is unfolding in Afghanistan, where women’s rights have been excised and the dreams of millions have been cast to the wind by the Taliban’s determination that they should do nothing more than cook and clean, stay at home, procreate and live in subjugation to their husbands and male authority.

And John should know. After the kidnapping and killing of his daughter, Linda, a British aid worker in Afghanistan in 2010, he and his wife, Lorna, established the Linda Norgrove Foundation to ensure her work would live on through a variety of educational programmes which would help girls and women to realise their dreams of becoming doctors, teachers, lawyers, surgeons and have equal opportunities to advance.

But almost none of it will happen. The couple of Uig on Lewis, have had their hopes pummelled into the dust.

John and Lorna Norgrove have spoken of their fears over the future of women in Afghanistan.

Foundation working to improve lives

It’s not in the Norgroves’ nature to be that pessimistic and, despite the shutters being closed on myriad aspects of anything resembling normal society in Afghanistan, their foundation is striving to enhance the lives of many people thousands of miles away.

In the last three months alone, they have given £10,720 to provide emergency transport for women in labour in the remote Kaldar region; £17,623 to long-standing supporter Habibulla Noori to improve two schools in the Bamyan province; £12,000 to La Chaine de L’Espoir to carry out life-changing surgeries to eight mothers and 17 girls at the French Medical Institute. Italian charity Nova Onlus has received £10,356 to refurbish two bakeries and staff them with females; and £10,932 as the first tranche of their “Direct Giving” trial project which will fund 25 women in charge of families for six months.

There are other initiatives and plans in the pipeline, including their ambition to bring the brightest of their sponsored medical students to complete their training at one of five Scottish medical schools, who have all agreed to take students.

Women receiving emergency aid parcels from the Linda Norgrove Foundation in Afghanistan.

Settlement scheme provides routes to UK

Yet this is among the proposals which have become mired in controversy with claims and counter-claims about the number of Afghan refugees who have arrived in Britain.

A UK Government spokeswoman said on Thursday: “So far, the UK has brought over 21,000 Afghan nationals to safety as part of our ambitious and generous commitment to help those at risk.

“This includes Afghans who loyally served the UK and others identified as particularly at-risk, such as campaigners for women’s rights, human rights defenders, journalists, judges and members of the LGBT+ community.”

The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) currently provide two safe and legal routes for eligible people at risk affected by events in Afghanistan to come to the United Kingdom.

A little girl with winter shoes donated by the Linda Norgrove Foundation.

‘Young women have been affected the most’

However, John reflected on the transformation which has occurred across Afghanistan since the return of Taliban rule led to the erosion of women’s rights and opportunities.

He said: “When the Foundation was set up 13 years ago, there was a positive feeling that we were able to contribute to a turnaround after many dark years.

“But now, it’s on the slide. Hunger is the norm, jobs are scarce, it’s [a case of] keep your head down and people feel oppressed by a minority.

“Young women have been affected the most. With a population of more than 41 million
and an incredible 50% aged 16 and under, more than 10 million girls are being denied an education beyond the age of 12. That’s more individuals than in Greater London – and nearly twice the population of Scotland.

Women being trained in beekeeping in Afghanistan, an initiative supported by the Linda Norgrove Foundation.

‘Helping people limp along’

“We thought that, although university level study for women might be halted for ‘male’ subjects such as engineering, the Taliban would realise that women are needed to run medical services. We were wrong – evidently their role is to clean, cook and breed.

“We’re proposing to bring 20 Afghan medical students to Scotland to finish their education here. Unfortunately, even if we succeed, that will leave 70 sponsored medical
students behind who had envisaged lives as doctors and are now relegated to cooking and cleaning. It’s difficult for us to appreciate the level of disappointments.

“We have been forced to adapt away from women’s education to the more basic tasks of
feeding and heating. It’s not as satisfying as sponsoring young women to become doctors, which was positive for both the women and the country. Now, we’re helping people limp along the road from this day to the next.”

Draconian restrictions

It’s difficult to accentuate the draconian restrictions which have been imposed on women since the chaotic exodus of Western troops two years ago.

The United Nations has investigated how the Taliban has banned girls from attending school past the sixth grade and prohibited women from working in most jobs.

Restrictions on their movement and bodies continue to escalate. They must cover their faces in public and remain in their homes except in cases of necessity.

Women are also banned from travelling long distances without a male chaperone, and unchaperoned women are increasingly being denied access to essential services.

Despite initial promises that females would be allowed to exercise their limited rights within Sharia law – including the right to work and further education – the Taliban has systematically excluded women and girls from everyday public life.

In which light, it’s not surprising that John is realistic about the coming winter.

John and Lorna Norgrove set up the foundation in memory of their daughter Linda in 2010.

‘Help is needed now more than ever’

He told me: “We are naturally cheerful, but the current situation has few glimmers of hope for a nation which faces a very hungry and cold winter with no social support, a struggling health system, education denied to a population of girls twice that of the entire population of Scotland, and women without a man in their household prevented from earning money to feed their families.

“For these reasons, we’re determined to continue. Help is needed now more than ever.”

It is now generally agreed that the exit strategy in 2021 was an ignominious failure and possibly one whose ineptitude persuaded Putin that he could send his troops into Ukraine without facing any serious resistance.

And, in Kabul just as in Kyiv, it’s women and children who are bearing the brunt.

Further information about the foundation is available at lindanorgrovefoundation.org