{"id":10724,"date":"2019-10-15T10:41:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-15T08:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/?p=10724"},"modified":"2019-10-15T20:16:52","modified_gmt":"2019-10-15T18:16:52","slug":"first-afghanistan-province-declared-mine-free-thanks-to-an-all-female-team-who-cleared-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/2019\/10\/first-afghanistan-province-declared-mine-free-thanks-to-an-all-female-team-who-cleared-them\/","title":{"rendered":"First Afghanistan province declared mine-free \u2013 thanks to an all-female team who cleared them"},"content":{"rendered":"<footer class=\"article-author\">\n<div class=\"article-author__primary\">\n<div class=\"article-author__meta\">\n<div class=\"byline \">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10725 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/cross.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/cross.png 225w, https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/cross-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/cross-60x60.png 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/global-health\/women-and-girls\/first-afghanistan-province-declared-mine-free-thanks-all-female\/\">The Telegraph<\/a><\/p>\n<p>by\u00a0 <span class=\"byline__author-name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/authors\/stefanie-glinski\/\">Stefanie Glinski<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"byline__author-location\">Bamyan, Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<article data-insert-mobile-adslot=\"\">\n<div class=\"articleBodyText version-2 section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component version-2\">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p><span class=\"m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged\">L<\/span>ast year, landmines still killed or injured an average of four Afghans every day.<\/p>\n<p>During the past four decades of war, the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan has cleared more than\u00a018 million explosive remnants of war, about 737,000 anti-personnel mines and over 30,000 anti-vehicle mines since 1989.<\/p>\n<p>But by the end of October, the country\u2019s first province will be declared mine-free \u2013\u00a0and the job has been done by a small but determined group of women.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been difficult,\u201d says Fezah Rezayee, 26, a tall woman with light brown hair tucked under a red headscarf. \u201cNot because of the work, but because of people\u2019s attitudes towards women working outside, hiking across the province, or having male colleagues. But we kept pushing back and pointing to the importance of our work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Women first began landmine clearance \u2013 now a seasonal job for the spring and summer months \u2013 in Afghanistan in June last year.<span class=\"m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged\">E<\/span>arlier this spring, after the snow had melted in the Hindu Kush mountains, 18 women dressed in heavy protective gear walked into Bamyan province\u2019s last mine fields, risking their lives to clear the remaining explosives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component \">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p>Home to the famous Buddha statues destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, mine clearance started in Bamyan in 2003. Since then more than 60,000 explosives \u2013\u00a0including unexploded ordnance such as mortar bombs \u2013\u00a0have been laboriously located, unearthed and removed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dynamicMpu section\">\n<div id=\"advert_tmg_dyn_0\" class=\"js-advert advert \" data-adtype=\"dyn\">\u201cMost days, we hike several hours in the hot sun, carrying all of our equipment, just to get to the minefields. We\u2019re proud of what we\u2019ve accomplished,\u201d says Rezayee, a mother of two. \u201cI\u2019m working for a better future \u2013 for my country and my children.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component \">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p><span class=\"m_first-letter\">L<\/span>ike the rest of the team, Rezayee was born and raised in Bamyan and received a months training before stepping into the minefields.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10726\" style=\"width: 836px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10726\" class=\"wp-image-10726 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2011_Monitor_Casualties_full-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"826\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2011_Monitor_Casualties_full-1.jpg 826w, https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2011_Monitor_Casualties_full-1-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2011_Monitor_Casualties_full-1-768x536.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 826px) 100vw, 826px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10726\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: https:\/\/landminefree.org\/facts-about-landmines\/<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhen we first advertised the positions, we had over 200 people apply,\u201d explains team leader Habib Noor, 41, of the Danish Demining Group, the organisation currently running the project. He says he wished they had started working with female deminers earlier<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyImage section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-image component \" data-frz-ancestor=\"\">\n<div class=\"component-content\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component \">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p><span class=\"m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged\">F<\/span>orty years of war have left Afghanistan devastated and the figures are grim: home to 37 million people, it is one of the most mined countries in the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are struggling to handle significant increases in the number of minefields in Afghanistan,\u201d explains United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) Country Director Patrick Fruchet.<\/p>\n<p>He says all of the country\u2019s 34 provinces had been mined, though no maps of their locations exist and there are no records of how many new mines continue to be put in the ground. The work has been further complicated, he says, as \u201cauthorities control only around half the country\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component \">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p><span class=\"m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged\">T<\/span>he US said earlier this year that they had stopped counting how much territory the Taliban actually controlled.<\/p>\n<p>October marks 18 years since the start of the US invasion in 2001. A US-Taliban peace agreement, which it was hoped would be signed this year, fell through after a bombing in Kabul that killed a US soldier caused President Donald Trump to cancel negotiations in September.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component \">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p><span class=\"m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged\">B<\/span>amyan is home to Afghanistan\u2019s ethnic Hazara community and is a three-hour drive northwest of the capital Kabul along a road with occasional Taliban checkpoints.<\/p>\n<p>Rezayee\u2019s day &#8211; and that of her 17 female colleagues &#8211; starts before sunrise, when the women hike up into the mountains, carrying as much water and equipment as possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much ground I get to clear in a day depends on the terrain and how steep or difficult is it,\u201d she explains, \u201cbut it\u2019s usually anywhere between 30-40 square meters.<\/p>\n<p>For this, Rezayee earns a monthly salary of 31,000 Afghani (\u00a3325), supporting both her two children and her husband.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I got married, I had already finished university, but my husband, who was a few years older, hadn\u2019t even finished school,\u201d Rezayee says. \u201cI first opposed the marriage, telling my mother and father that I didn\u2019t want to be with an uneducated man.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component \">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p><span class=\"m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged\">W<\/span>hile she couldn\u2019t counter her parents\u2019s decision, she\u2019s been using part of her income to help her husband catch up. \u201cI told him he needed to go to school, and I\u2019m now\u00a0 paying for his university degree,\u201d she says proudly. \u201cI know I\u2019m the stronger one in my marriage and I had to push my husband, but it\u2019s finally working.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component \">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p><span class=\"m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged\">S<\/span>he gets up early to take her daughters to her mother\u2019s house, where they stay while Razayee works. The team\u2019s morning walks are quiet, while the women are more chatty on the hike down in the late afternoons.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have clear procedures,\u201d Razayee says. \u201cWhen we detect a mine, we immediately stop, raise our hand or signal to the others that we have found something. Our team leader then evaluates the situation.\u201d Mines are either removed gently by hand or a controlled explosion is carried out on-site.<\/p>\n<p>Zahra Atayee is the youngest of the team at just 21 years. \u201cIt might be a riskier job than others, but I feel confident because I know what I\u2019m doing,\u201d she says proudly, now sitting in her living room after a long day out and pouring tea for her father Hussain Ali, 57.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m happy my daughter found a job,\u201d he says. \u201cShe\u2019s supporting the whole family &#8211; and actually the whole country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component \">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p><span class=\"m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged\">A<\/span>tayee says she knows many women who are locked in their houses because that\u2019s what their fathers and husbands demand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to set an example,\u201d she smiles. \u201cWe can do anything, even in this patriarchal society.\u201d She plans to use her income to get a degree in economics now that Bamyan has almost been cleared of its mines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dynamicMpu section\">\n<div id=\"advert_tmg_dyn_3\" class=\"js-advert advert \" data-adtype=\"dyn\"><span class=\"m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged\">A<\/span>t home in the evenings, Rezayee sits with her two children Fatima, seven, and Zainab, three. Fatima understands her mother\u2019s job. \u201cMy mum does mine clearance and I know it\u2019s dangerous, but it also helps people,\u201d she says, leaning her head against her mum for reassurance.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component \">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p>While Bamyan remains relatively peaceful, Afghanistan has seen a surge in violence since the cancelled US-Taliban peace deal and in the lead-up to presidential elections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know that anything can be possible in Afghanistan if peace will come and we can clear all the mines here,\u201d says Atayee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"htmlEmbed section\">\n<div class=\"html-embed component version-1\">\n<div class=\"component-content\"><span class=\"m_first-letter m_first-letter--flagged\">U<\/span>NMAS hopes that the country could get rid of all ground-contaminating explosives by 2023 \u2013\u00a0as of August 2019, about 3,924 hazards continue to remain in the ground.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"article-body-text component \">\n<div class=\"component-content\">\n<p>Many of the women have decided to stick with the job and are even considering moving. \u201cWe\u2019re just finishing up here,\u201d Atayee explains. \u201cBut there are 33 more provinces that still have landmines, and we\u2019re ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the past four decades of war, the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan has cleared more than\u00a018 million explosive remnants of war, about 737,000 anti-personnel mines and over 30,000 anti-vehicle mines since 1989<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,19,90,89,48],"tags":[1092,1091],"class_list":["post-10724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afghanistan","category-citizens-and-civil-society","category-editor-selection","category-events","category-war-and-peace","tag-bamyan","tag-mines","country-afghanistan","Documents-statements-multimedia"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10724"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10734,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10724\/revisions\/10734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}