What happened to the teacher in favor of Afghan women’s education in Taliban prison?

One year ago today, prominent Afghan academic Matiullah Wesa was abducted by the Taliban from a mosque, tortured and taken to a center run by their intelligence and security agency, where he spent the next seven months in prison. I spent

Visa’s only crime was becoming a huge hit online thanks to viral social media posts praising her door-to-door campaign to promote girls’ education in the crisis-stricken country.

Since taking over the country in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed a brutal regime in Afghanistan, preventing women and girls from attending schools, offices and public places.

The Taliban finally released Visa in October last year, but the release came after persistent campaigning by the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and several other international organizations and celebrities including Angelina Jolie.

Wisa, one of the last remaining pro-education activists in the country, has now recovered from physical injuries sustained while in Taliban custody but still fears the country’s hardline Islamic rulers.

Before being abducted by the Taliban, Wasa was heading an organization called ‘Pen Path’. Along with 3,000 helpers and volunteers, he went across the length and breadth of Afghanistan with the same message that if you want to make Afghanistan prosperous, let your sons and daughters get an education.

The Taliban were angry that VISA focused exclusively on girls’ education. Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are banned from attending schools and colleges.

A source close to Wesa described how he was subjected to various forms of physical abuse during his seven-month detention, where his condition rapidly deteriorated. It took him months to fully recover from the torture.

The source told The Independent, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of a Taliban backlash: ‘They told him that you started negative propaganda against the Taliban because you started secret schools, protest meetings and women and Advocated for girls’ schools and universities and their human rights.’

Sources say that the 32-year-old Wesa was subjected to inhumane treatment while in prison, but they did not elaborate on the possibility of further action by the Taliban against Wesa and his family. How was the torture done?

He said that no one was allowed to meet Visa. They did not even have a lawyer or legal representative to fight their case. She was imprisoned only for educating girls and campaigning for the Pan Path.’

When the Taliban came to power, they initially promised to run the country differently than during their previous tenures (1996 and 2001), but they have since made some human rights concessions.

Sources cited Visa’s experience as saying that incidents of violence in Taliban prisons increased and continue to this day.

When Wasa was arrested, his brother and PanPath co-founder Attaullah Wasa was forced to flee the country, prompting 26-year-old volunteer Nighat Aram from Kabul to shut down PanPath activities overnight. A decision had to be made.

Aram told The Independent over the phone: ‘We were really scared and shocked. We were aware of the grave dangers of opposing the Taliban’s anti-education stance, but isn’t education a universal right? We expected that in the worst case scenario the international community would support to prevent his arrest.’

He said that since the establishment of PanPath in 2009, all the governments of Afghanistan have encouraged and supported VISA. ‘Taliban should have encouraged them too.’

Another volunteer said that Visa’s personal popularity, along with opposing the group’s backward policies, clearly angered the Taliban.

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie called for her visa release in August last year, urging her millions of followers to get a handle on her whereabouts to ensure she gets proper legal help.

She wrote on her Instagram account: ‘I know you have dedicated more than a decade of your life to helping Afghan children, especially in rural areas, have access to books and the means and opportunities to go to school. Granted..I humbly add my voice to all those who are calling for your release, so that you can continue your important work and remove all restrictions on girls’ education.’

Malala Yousafzai’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, who himself has actively campaigned for women’s right to education, called Wesa the ‘Bacha Khan’ of Afghanistan. Bacha Khan was a freedom fighter, who fought against the country’s British colonial leaders for women’s rights and education.

However, after his arrest, PanPath asked all its volunteers to end their presence on social media. The silence has continued since Visa’s release in October as those affiliated with the organization face the constant threat of a Taliban response.

PanPath volunteer Asma Khan (her name has been changed to protect her identity) said: ‘After Visa’s arrest, PanPath’s campaign and almost all our activities came to a halt. A year later, the situation remains the same.’

Despite all this, there are some Penn Path volunteers who still work to carry out their mission at great risk to their lives and their families.

“We are somehow running about 43 clandestine schools, with 400 teachers, because we are spreading our messages among village elders and rural families,” Aram told The Independent.

He said: ‘Using a mobile library to covertly deliver our books to remote villages is difficult, but we are doing it.’

He further said that ‘Taliban has imposed a complete ban on us but we will continue our online and secret schools. We will find other ways, some scholarships for volunteers and keep in touch with the international community.’

But one fear haunts hundreds of Visa volunteers like Aram. He said that the Taliban will not be too lenient with us or the like. If we don’t follow the rules, they will be arrested again.’

The hardline government sees Matiullah Wesa’s arrest and continued intimidation of Penn Path as part of a larger plan to keep women out of education and the workforce. “This confirms that the Taliban will never open schools for girls and women,” says Iram.

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