All Rise Again

Aim

To provide trauma treatment to Afghan women lawyers, judges and human rights defenders who fled their home country in fear of the Taliban.

Introduction

Through All Rise Again, Trauma Treatment International will help Afghan women lawyers and judges to heal from the trauma of having to flee their home country. 

In a country that is the second most hostile for women in the world, these brave human rights defenders battled against the odds to study at university and chose careers where they would face hostility, death threats and violence in their efforts to make the world a more just and equal place for all. 

Through their lives they have fought for a better world. They used every resource at their disposal to bring justice, fight for the rights of the oppressed, and combat violence. They prosecuted members of the Taliban. 

When the Taliban regained control of the country last autumn, the very real fear of retribution meant they were forced to leave everything they knew to seek safety wherever they could find it around the world. 

To this end, nearly 200 women and their families were evacuated with help from the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute and other organisations. The departure was deeply terrifying, with uncertain escape routes, the constant fear of capture and unknown dangers lying ahead. 

Even now, almost a year on, many are still being housed in temporary hotel accommodation and are fighting legal battles to remain in the UK. 

In this Guardian article, prominent judge Fawzia Amini explains why she sought safety in the UK with her family. “All the time I was in danger in my work,” she said. 

“One time a violent man came to the court with a gun to shoot his wife who was trying to get justice for things he had done to her. As he pointed the gun at his wife I hit his hands to direct the gun away from (her). The bullet missed her and she survived.”

Eight months on, Fawzia continues to be housed in temporary accommodation in London, fighting to secure a permanent home for her family.  

(Photograph: Alecsandra Raluca Drăgoi/The Guardian) 

As well as legal battles, these displaced women are plagued with anxiety about their friends and colleagues who are still in Afghanistan. Concern for their safety is a huge mental burden. 

In short, the trauma of their experiences cannot be underestimated. 

TTI’s former vice-chair, Garden Court Chambers barrister Irena Sabic, discusses the remarkable emotional strength of the Afghan women in our short video.

“Everything is lost for women in Afghanistan.” Fawzia Amini

 ALL RISE AGAIN

Through All Rise Again, we hope to raise £48,000 to offer 200 women urgent mental health support which will include PTSD treatment, therapy and counselling. This will give them the confidence and hope they need to forge new, fulfilling lives for themselves.

All Rise Again is a collaborative project between Trauma Treatment International, International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute, Last Rights and Garden Court Chambers. 

Esteemed former UK judge Catriona Jarvis, who is director of Last Rights, has been supporting some of the refugees. She said: “The women we have been working with have all been in need of psycho-social or psychiatric support to a greater or lesser degree.”

Together we can support these amazing women to Rise Again. 

SUPPORTING THE SUPPORTERS

There is also an urgent need to support the professionals involved in the evacuation and resettlement of these families. The staff at the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute, Last Rights and Garden Court Chambers, along with their partner law firms, have been working on these exceptional cases for the past year.

Their intense workloads are compounded by the emotional and heart-breaking realities of what the Afghan women have been through. The UK teams have been exposed to highly traumatic content, case studies and evidence of torture, rape and psychological violence. 

We are committed to supporting these staff members to avoid or overcome stress, burnout and vicarious trauma. We must protect their wellbeing to enable them to do their incredible work safely and effectively. 

Our co-ordinated support for these partner organisations will comprise training and peer-to-peer support. This will help them to build trauma-informed knowledge and practice into their work. 

In addition, we aim to provide trauma support to those hosting the displaced Afghan women and their families. By doing so, the hosts will be given the tools they need to best help their house guests, and look after their own mental health at the same time. 

This project builds on the All Rise project launched by Trauma Treatment International last Christmas. Through that initiative, we have given direct trauma treatment to six women. We are very grateful to all those who have donated so far. We hope we can count on your ongoing support with All Rise Again. Thank you.

This project successfully funded on 13th September 2022