Apartheid in Afghanistan and Palestine through the eyes of a South African girl
“No country has ever advanced by choosing not to invest in the education and empowerment of all its citizens, especially girls and women. The devastating statistics mean the girls and women of Afghanistan are stripped of the knowledge and skills they need to advance personally and professionally. “ Photo courtesy of Paballo Peege.
18-year-old Paballo reflects on how historical knowledge of South Africa — her home country — helps her draw similarities across three different contexts and understand her role in demanding justice.
As I sat at the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, in my home of Johannesburg — watching Malala speak onstage — I thought about how significant the day was. It marked 10 years since the passing of my country’s former president and anti-apartheid activist, Nelson Mandela.
As a young woman in South Africa, apartheid has shaped the history of my country and the lives of many. It was a system implemented in South Africa in 1948 which oppressed and marginalised non-white South Africans by restricting their movement, education and employment. It’s been 30 years since the system ended yet I still see my country recovering from the years of land expropriation, racial classification, mass displacement, and the violent repression of people of color. Though I was spared the horrors of that time, the same cannot be said of the young Palestinians who are currently enduring in Gaza.
Paballo at the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo courtesy of Paballo Peege.
I came to know about the ongoing conflict in Gaza through Instagram posts and was slightly embarrassed to discover I was unaware of a conflict that has been displacing millions of people and killing thousands for more than seven decades.
The Israel-Palestine conflict can be traced back to the Balfour Declaration in 1917 followed by the Arab revolt which killed 5000 Palestinians, to the 1948 ethnic cleansing that destroyed 500 Palestinian towns and villages so the borders of Israel could be expanded. By the 2000s there were constructions of segmented roads and infrastructure in the occupied West Bank that restricted and isolated Palestinian towns and cities. This was reminiscent of the isolated enclaves under South Africa’s apartheid regime called “Bantustans.”
Israel launched military assaults in Gaza in 2008, 2012, 2014, 2021 and 2023. More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, with the death toll expected to reach nearly 186,000.
Earlier this year, South Africa went to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hold the state of Israel accountable for the acts of genocide. The ICJ ultimately ruled in favour of South Africa granting most of its demands and while I was hoping for a ceasefire, I had more so hoped the court’s acknowledgement that the claim of genocide in Palestine is plausible would make it difficult for global leaders to ignore the ruling. But the number of people getting killed in the Gaza Strip keeps rising. In May, the ICJ ordered Israel to halt all operations in Rafah, within 48 hours Rafah was bombed 60 times. The scenes from the city are gut-wrenching and every country actively arming and aiding Israel in committing these massacres should be held accountable.
“I value the independence my education has given me. I also understand that having access to an education is not a matter of privilege but something everyone is entitled to.”
I believe it's possible, and important, to address multiple issues simultaneously. As we try to leverage international law to uphold the safety and rights of Palestinians, we should leverage the law to aid girls and women in Afghanistan by codifying gender apartheid and declaring it a crime against humanity. This means utilising the current apartheid law and adding a gender-inclusive interpretation to it and strongly demanding the codification of gender apartheid.
Gender apartheid is the systemic segregation of people based on their gender, enforced using physical or legal practices to relegate individuals to subordinate positions, which has been the case in Afghanistan since August 2021 when the Taliban took control.
According to UNESCO there are currently about 2.5 million Afghan women and girls who are out of school,1.4 million of whom are denied access to secondary schools and universities.
As a student, I value the independence my education has given me. I also understand that having access to an education is not a matter of privilege but something everyone is entitled to. No country has ever advanced by choosing not to invest in the education and empowerment of all its citizens, especially girls and women. The devastating statistics mean the girls and women of Afghanistan are stripped of the knowledge and skills they need to advance personally and professionally. It means that the doors for economic opportunities have been closed for them.
“Though words are a formidable tool in sparking conversations and placing urgent issues on the desks of powerful people, when followed by inaction they nurture a silence so profound it holds the world captive to its present condition. ”
“It took a bullet to my head for the world to stand with me, what will it take for the world to stand with the girls and women of Afghanistan?”
Malala’s words are still etched in my consciousness as though it was just yesterday I felt their weight settling on my shoulders. She offered a sharp and frightful reflection of the society we live in that too often treats the simple human rights of life, dignity and equality as something reserved for a select group of people. It is both terrifying and unacceptable that anyone should risk their life to attain their basic rights.
Though words are a formidable tool in sparking conversations and placing urgent issues on the desks of powerful people, when followed by inaction they nurture a silence so profound it holds the world captive to its present condition.
I want to urge those who can to donate to Gaza’s humanitarian aid efforts. This is also a call to governments to play their role in supporting the codification of gender apartheid and raising the issue with the UN General Assembly.
Gaza relief
Palestine Children Relief Fund
Girls’ education
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