MAHWOOSH, Statement

I am Mahwoosh WITHHELD
Wife of WITHHELD

My husband worked as a driver and security guard at NATO and US government projects for more than 15 years.

My husband was born in Panjshir province and I was born in Kapisa province. I have an 8-year-old daughter. We are Tajik. 

On December 15, 2020, the Taliban killed my brother near our house. My brother was a defense lawyer in Kabul and a member of the Afghanistan Defense Lawyers Association. My brother had 4 children. 

When my brother was murdered, my husband took responsibility for his family and my brother's family lived in the same apartment with us. My husband paid all their expenses.

After the fall of the government, we moved in Kabul and my husband went into hiding in Kabul also. 

Now, we are two women with five kids at home, and sometimes my husband would be able to to visit and bring us food.

In different provinces of Afghanistan, the Taliban made life hard, such as banning women's work and education, killing the military employees of the previous government, killing NATO and American employees, and other problems that the whole world knows, but another important issue is the genocide of the Tajik people.

A number of people are either imprisoned or killed for the crime of being Tajik.

In 2022, the Taliban intelligence team arrested my husband. My husband was imprisoned for the crime of being an employee of the American government and NATO. But in the Taliban court, they sentenced my husband to five years imprisonment. They said he was preaching against the government and inviting people to Christianity.

Now life has become very difficult for us and we are sometimes harassed by the Taliban.

Several times the Taliban tried to enter our house and rape us, which was stopped by the local people.

Later, with the help of my husband's colleagues, we were able to move to another place.

But life is very difficult for us.

Please help us.

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