by Jayne Cravens

Suggestions for mutual aid societies in Afghanistan:

acts of survival as well as resistance.

WARNING: in Afghanistan, and other countries with oppressive regimes, your following of the advice below could get you harassed, arrested, financially ruined or killed. Following the advice could also put your family in the same danger. The advice is offered for those who want to try to survive the latest reign of the Taliban, and have hope for a future where the Taliban are no longer in power and no longer a threat to anyone. But before you engage in any of these activities, please understand the risks to yourself and your family. You should also consider the risks of NOT doing anything.

And note that being caught by authorities reading this web page could also put you in harm's way.

Why Mutual Aid?

Mutual aid is a voluntary, peer-to-peer exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit for people in a particular neighborhood or region. It's sometimes called neighbors-helping-neighbors. It's usually informal and grassroots: there's often no government agency or nonprofit organization organizing it, though that does happen. And it's usually not some huge, well-organized network: it's usually something done spontaneously, without careful, long-term planning.

During the COVID lockdowns, a lot of mutual aid activities popped up all around the world: neighbors sharing resources with people around them who could not access those resources, like toilet paper or food. In the USA, neighbors helped neighbors who didn't have transportaiton get to the mass vaccination sites. Mutual aid activities often pop up after disasters and during conflict as well.

Mutual aid activities can be focused just on helping others to obtain food and medicine, but they can also be acts of resistance: they can be focused on helping people specifically who are being marginalized or oppressed by the government or by some or even a majority of people in an area. In the USA, an early example of this was the Underground Railroad in the USA before the Civil War, where unaffiliated people in the USA, black and white, helped enslaved people escape to the Northern USA and even up into Canada, all done informally, without an agency organizing anything: where an enslaved person should go and seek help was passed on by word of mouth, and by one person passing someone on to someone else in the network. Another example is the people in the Netherlands during World War II that helped Anne Frank and her family and other Jewish families to hide, and in bringing them food and medicine.

During the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and ’90s, queer communities in the USA took matters into their own hands, since the government was not addressing the health crisis adequately, and created their own health clinics, therapy groups, needle exchange program, and food pantries. The solidarity built with allies and queer community members who were criminalized and ignored by the government helped build a movement for change that grew for decades and transformed society forever in talking about and addressing not just HIV and AIDS, but the legal rights of LBGTQ people.

For a contemporary example, think of the people helping immigrants in the USA: many people carry whistles and begin to blow them if they see ICE staging somewhere, to alert any immigrants in the area of the potential danger. Many people are creating car pools to take children of immigrants to and from school, so that parents aren't easy targets for ICE to pickup. Some people are sitting on watch for ICE while immigrants are doing construction, repairing a roof, mowing a lawn, etc. In Minnesota and around the USA, communities are banding together to provide mutual aid to neighbors suffering from harsh government policies, especially those targeting immigrants.

In Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis (And the Next), author Dean Spade defines mutual aid as "survival work" done by ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances where government policies inadequately address crisis situations and even exacerbate structural inequities. When this community care work is done in conjunction with social justice movements or human rights campaigns, this in Spade’s mind is mutual aid.

A famous example of mutual aid as an act of resistance and defiance is the Black Panther Party’s Breakfast for Children Program in 1969 in the USA. This program and others like it were considered just as essential and revolutionary as the party's other tactics, directly addressing issues of hunger, class oppression, and racism while increasing the community’s political consciousness and trust in the party. The premise was simple: children would do better in school if they had a nutritious breakfast before classes began. What started as an experiment at one local church in California blossomed into a nationwide initiative as communities took notice and came in droves, with some host sites serving over a thousand children each week. More about this from Mutual Aid 1010: History, Politics and Organizational Stuctures of Community Care (2023).

Sometimes, mutual aid must be done in secret. The previously-mentioned underground railroad is an example of this. The circumstances of Anne Frank and her family is another example of that. This type of mutual aid, done in secret, is also an act of resistance to an oppressive regime.

During the first Taliban regime, secret schools were initiated throughout urban areas of Afghanistan. My Afghan colleague told me about organizing such an underground school herself, and how girls would come to the classes in her home on a staggered schedule, never more than one or two girls walking together at the same time. The goal was not only to hide from the Taliban, but also from neighbors who might betray the organizer. This was one of many examples of this happening all over Afghanistan at that time.

But something seems to be far worse this time. While the Taliban is not holding public executions in soccer stadiums, as they were during their first regime, they seem to have instilled far greater fear in the Afghan population. There seems to be little trust among neighbors, as well as among former co-workers, former classmates, and former friends. Everyone seems to believe that there is someone close to them who would betray them to the Taliban, such as having a hidden musical instrument, having a secret music player, or teaching girls math beyond the 6th grade.

The situation in Afghanistan is going to be far, far worse, every day, if most Afghans retreat into their living spaces and stop talking with their neighbors, former co-workers, former classmates, etc. The only way to survive the Taliban and, possibly, overthrow it someday, is for the people of Afghanistan to feel a solidarity with each other and with a unified belief that what the Taliban does is un-Islamic, inhumane, a crime against humanity and not the will of God.

No country is going to save Afghanistan but Afghanistan.

A way to build solidarity with other Afghans, to survive the evils of the Taliban, and to reduce the suffering of people is through the creation of independent mutual aid networks.

Setting up a mutual aid network comes with risks in Afghanistan, especially if it is meant to help women, girls, or the Hazara people. If the Taliban decides that the acts are un-Islamic or an attack on their power, the consequences can be deadly for organizers and participants.

Permission to translate this into Afghan languages

You have my permission to translate the contents of this page into any Afghan language, including Dari, Pashto, Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani and Pamiri. You have my permission to adapt the information and rewrite any of the advice to make it more appropriate to your target audience. Please remember that, if you are in Afghanistan, you are taking a risk in translating the contents here or posting the contents online.

Setting Up Mutual Aid Networks in Afghanistan

If you do decide that it's worthwhile to do this, both to save lives, to build strength among those that resist the Taliban, and to maintain a foundation you can build on after the Taliban, here is specific advice on setting up and maintaining mutual aid networks:

Read about this underground all-women reading group in Kabul. All the women in the reading group had their hopes for an education dashed by the return of the Taliban. Every week, these five friends come together away from the disapproving gaze of the Taliban for a reading circle. They call their group “women with books and imagination”. The works they’ve read include George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Zoya Pirzad’s I’ll Turn Off the Lights and Iranian writer Abbas Maroufi 's Symphony of the Dead and The Year of Turmoil, the later of which is a novel about a young woman named Noushafarin who finds herself trapped in an oppressive marriage: set against the backdrop of turmoil in mid-20th-century Iran, its themes of repression, faith and patriarchal power resonate strongly with the women. Most of the books can be found online and downloaded free, although occasionally they borrow books from libraries. One of the member explains the purpose of the circle this way: “Most women who accept oppression do so because they are unaware of their rights. The books we read are about suffering, choice and standing up to force – things we ourselves live with every day.”
Start small for your own group, with very few people involved - maybe just two other people - and very small goals, such as just helping each other and your family's access food, or just reading the same book that you discuss, like the aforementioned underground reading group. You aren't going to start an underground school for girls overnight. You may never get beyond helping just one or two people with trips to a doctor or just having a reading group. That's okay. your goal is to build a community of your own, beyond your family, even if it's just two other people.
Think about the people that you can absolutely trust, people who can keep a secret, who do not gossip, and who consider you someone they would never betray. When you have your first meeting, you aren't going to say, "I contacted you because I want to have a secret group that can support each other in secret from the Taliban." Instead, you are going to say something simple: "I want the three of us to help our neighbor, who I have realized cannot leave her house because she does not have a male family member. We need to help her get food. How can we do this?" Or "I would like for us all to read this book and come together next week and discuss this book." Your goal is to start small and to slowly evolve into a more robust and ambitious support network - a community - but keeping risks of discovery and arrest as small as possible.
Do not tell the complete truth about this gathering of others in your mutual aid network to any of your family. Do not say or do anything in front of a family member that would reveal the true nature of your mutual support network: they should believe that it is simply an Islamic-based charitable activity by women, for women, or a reading group to maintain your literacy. Don't assume all of your family supports your idea. Also, by not telling them all the details, you protect them if they are ever questioned - they really do NOT know what is happening, and don't have to lie.
Think about what people, especially women, need help with and, to start, what ONE thing you could help each other, and/or a select number of other, with:
- Accessing food.
- Accessing transportation for health care or appointments with government offices.
- Picking up medicine or other absolutely essentials.
- Emotional support and socializing (many women in Afghanistan are suffering from lack of contact with other people outside of family members).
- Assistance using smart phones or computers and accessing the Internet.
- Assistance keeping networked devices safe.
- Timely and accurate information.
- Continuing their learning if they were cut off from formal studies. This could be helping access learning materials or books. It could be a book club. It could be a language club, where you continue to study a language and converse in that language in order to practice.
As you are in an Islamic country, run by a fanatical regime, you need to have an Islamic justification for everything you do. Always talk and text about your activities, even in private, among yourselves, as an act of Zakat, Sadaqah or Sadaqah Jariyah.
The Qur’an outlines eight categories of recipients of charity. Among them are people living in poverty, individuals overwhelmed by debt, and others facing financial vulnerability. Be able to say, if asked, how your activities are helping one or more of the eight categories of recipients of charity.
Zakat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. For Muslims who meet the financial threshold, it is mandatory. Each year, 2.5% of qualifying accumulated wealth is given, provided it exceeds the nisab. If you are doing anything regarding giving money or giving items, you can frame it as Zakat.
Sadaqah is different from Zakat. It is voluntary and flexible. There is no fixed percentage. No minimum threshold. No restricted list of recipients. And Sadaqah Jariyah refers to ongoing benefit: something that keeps serving people long after the initial act. This means a lot of what you do as mutual aid can be talked about as Sadaqah or Sadaqah Jariyah.
During your meetings time, take time to engage in Salah. This further establishes that your activities are Islamic.
When talking or texting about your activities, always assume that someone could be listening or could read what you write. That's one reason why you need to always frame what you are doing as Islamic. You should also never use phrases like "secret school." Talk about cooking classes or classes to discuss child rearing or sewing classes or classes to discuss menstrual problems - call it anything but what it really is.
You could refer to yourselves as the symbolic daughters of Aisha, a wife of the Prophet, who is said to have frequently been consulted by prominent male companions and scholars after his death. Or you could say you are the symbolic sisters of Hafsa bint Umar, another wife, who is said to have kept safe the original written compilation of the Quran. Or you could pick a different wife to use to refer to your group. This could be how you refer to your mutual aid network. It is hard to punish a group as un-islamic when they are referring to a wife of the Prophet and seem to be studying her life as a model for their own.
Keep your network small. Your network should never be more than a dozen people. If your network starts to get bigger than that, you must break the network into two groups, and they need to act independently, though you can have some members talk to each other. But it is imperative that no one outside of a mutual aid network knows the names of everyone who is in a mutual aid network.
Be prepared that authorities could force you to unlock your device. That means you cannot simply lock all your apps and your phone - the Taliban could, literally, hold a gun to your head and force you to unlock everything so they can read everything.
If you use What'sApp or Signal to organize, you need to NOT create a group for texting everyone in your mutual aid network, and you must not identify them in any way as a member of your mutual aid group in your list of contacts. It's better to memorize which people in your contact are a member of your group, and email each individually. If you insist on creating a group on WhatsApp, then doing what is noted in the next bullet is absolutely imperitive:
If you use What'sApp or Signal to organize, you need to use the apps settings so that messages disappear for everyone within a certain period of time - a few hours? a day? a few days? It is up to you to decide what will keep everyone safest.
If you use What'sApp or Signal to organize, you need to have a have way to alert someone in your network, if you are being forced to write or call them, to let them know you are doing so under duress. You could pick one of the Prophet's wives names - if anyone in your network mentions this name in a phone call or text, you know that the Taliban is watching and listening.
Every member of the network needs to know how to keep their devices safe from Taliban searches. They need to know how to clear their email and web browser caches regularly. Have members check their phones regularly, opening every app as though they are a member of the Taliban looking for incriminating information.
Do not take your devices out of your home, if at all possible. If you must, then fully power off your phone & laptop before you approach security checkpoints. Rather than have you turn a device on, the Taliban may decide it's just too much time to do so and wave you through.
Never use your phone in public, if at all possible, not even to text or talk on the phone.
Don't let any app track your location. Ensure that all location identification settings are "off", or that you are using a VPN that says you are in another country.
If you are going to have an online profile on social media, such as Facebook, BlueSky, Reddit, etc., do not use your real name. Also think about why you want to be on it, what it is you want people to know about you, etc. Be very careful in what you post on social media - always assume the Taliban can see it or find it.
The Taliban can force you to turn on any device and to open any app. But you should still put strong passwords on all devices and apps, because it's not just the Taliban you need to worry about: you also need to worry about male family members, their friends, and anyone who might pick up your phone when you aren't around with the intent of looking at your activities - even the photos you have taken.

If you have other suggestions regarding setting up mutual aid networks, especially with regarding to building trust, maintaining secrecy and safety, please contact me.

Again: in Afghanistan, and other countries with oppressive regimes, following the advice below could get you harassed, arrested, or even killed. Following the advice could also put your family in danger. The advice is offered for those who want to try to survive the latest reign of the Taliban, and have hope for a future where the Taliban are no longer in power and no longer a threat to anyone. But before you engage in any of these activities, please understand the risks. Although also consider the risks of NOT doing anything.

Suggestions for mutual aid societies in Afghanistan:

acts of survival as well as resistance.

Why Mutual Aid?

Permission to translate this into Afghan languages

Setting Up Mutual Aid Networks in Afghanistan

Further Reading: