‘Women can organize separate art, poetry gatherings’

KABUL (Pajhwok): Some poets and writers have asked the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ (IEA) to allow women organized cultural, literature and art related gatherings in order to strengthen this sector.

The Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC) echoed the demand by saying that women could hold separate cultural and art gatherings by observing hijab.

In post regime change era some of the people believed government attention to cultural, literature and art activities would extinct and they would not be allowed to hold such meetings, while some of the writers and poets said they did not face any sort problems as they held such gatherings.

He added, about half of the activities were performed by the females in the past, but after the imposition of limitations on the activities of females (in December 2022), the females have never attended our gatherings.

He said, Panj Shunbe Hai Didar trend faced financial problems and asked the acting government to financial support and to allow the females to take part in these gatherings as well.

The “Kitab Sarai Rawzana” has been supporting the Panj Shunbe Hai Didar since three months which is usually held in Khair Khana area of Kabul city and the poets gather, criticize or share their opinion about the declaimed poems.

Mohammad Ismael Lahskari, a writer and the head of Kitab Sarai Rawzana said, that they hold weekly gatherings about literature, declamation of poems and criticisms of the poems.

He said, two other trends that names “Khair Khana” and “Laila Sarahat Roushani” were also members of their literary association but due to some economic and logistical issues, they stopped their works.

The literary trends leave positive impacts on the society, anyone that picks a pen for the enrichment of the literature must be supported, Lashkari said.

There is no restriction for the activities of such literary associations, but the absence of females has faded out the value of such gatherings, Lashkari added.

Poet Zamir Ahamd Jahid said: “Human is a social creature, the social, economic and political situations leave positive impacts on the thoughts of this creature, especially those humans who are involved in cultural and literary fields, due to this reason, the poems turned more criticizing and they reflect sadness, sufferings and problems of the society after the takeover by IEA.”

Referring to the absence of women in such literary gatherings, Jahid added, in the economic and political fields, a sort of gender gap can be established, but in the field of literature, culture and artistic works, it is very difficult to exclude a large part of the society from these activities.

Jahid, asked the government to allow female writers and poets to attend literature related gatherings and specify what things were cultural issues for the government or if the government has no strategy it should gather cultural activist and asked them for a strategy.

Some of the female poets said that a society without the presence of females is incomplete, literature and art gatherings san female artists and poets will erode thoughts of half of the society.

Sakina Adib is a poet, she has been writing poems from the past seven years, she was active in majority of literary gatherings prior to the takeover by Islamic Emirate, but after the imposition of the restriction on females, she could not attend to such gatherings.

However she is a member in some online groups where she can share her opinions about literary topics, but she believed the current situation and weak internet does not respond to her needs and she could not share her ideas.

Adib believed a society without the presence of women was incomplete and disabled, while the female writers and poets are unable to take their actual part in such literary programs, it means that the history of Afghan literature cannot contain the thoughts of half of the society, which she says is irreparable.

Saadia, another poet and the one who has been writing poems since three years said, they could share their thoughts freely in the past and she was attending “Daneshjo Sher Kanoon” that created   a sort of motivation for her, but after the takeover by IEA, she has never taken part in such gatherings.

Referring to presence of females in all aspects of cultural and literal gatherings, the female poets urged the officials of IEA to allow their presence in such occasions.

Mufti Abdul Matin Qani, the spokesman and adviser of the MoICA said, there was no obstacles in the way of women hold cultural programs adding that such programs were allowed provided that Islamic values, national interest and matters related to the highest importance are not harmed.

Referring to our nation, Qani said every nation has its own cultural values adding that every provincial director of the 33 provinces of the country was obliged to arrange such cultural and artistic gatherings every week or at least once a month with the presence of cadre and youth.

Qani, about the presence of the females said, by observing hijab, the females can hold separate literary gatherings.

Aw/nh