Tela is a busy working mum, with six children between the ages of one and 13 years. She started working for HALO just over a year ago and is part of an impact monitoring team, looking at the effect mine clearance has on local communities as well as providing risk education to vulnerable groups.
What were you doing before you joined HALO?
Before joining HALO, I worked as a field officer for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) here in Afghanistan. I was responsible for conducting needs assessments and community outreach with women from rural villages. The project involved development and infrastructure—my job was to assess the types of infrastructure the community wanted and needed and then measure the impact on the village of all the projects carried out by the IRC.
What does your family think of you working for HALO?
Of course my family is very supportive of me working for HALO. This is because I work together with my husband and brother. As I am part of a gender-balanced impact monitoring team operating under a ‘mahram’ structure, I work and travel with either with my husband, my brother or both. We are happy that we are able to work together. Also my mother-in-law and children are very pleased. While my husband and I work, she looks after our children and takes care of household chores. My children are young, but proud that I work and help support our family’s needs. Many female members of my family wish they had a similar job.
What do other women think of you doing this job?
My direct family and friends are very proud of me. While it is not very common in Afghanistan for women to have a job like this, I am now able to work together with my husband, so they are very happy for me. Women in communities affected by mines are also happy that I am working for HALO. Without a female in the team, they often do not get to participate in livelihood surveys or attend risk education sessions. They are pleased that my work allows me to convey life-saving messages to them.
What are your ambitions for the future?
My ambition is to stay with HALO for as long as they will have me. I want to help Afghanistan establish peace and rid the country of mines and other explosive remnants of war. I have seen so many mine victims when visiting at risk communities, so many women who have been injured, or lost their husbands or children to mine accidents. This breaks my heart. Working for HALO allows me to contribute to making my country a safer and more free place to live.
If you could ask a fellow female deminer from around the world one question, what would it be?
First I just want to say how amazed and proud I am that there are women in the world working as deminers. They are my sisters, working to help clear their countries of the debris of war. I am curious to know what it is that motivates them and drives them to work as deminers. We share the same goal, but maybe the reasons why we work for HALO differ. Regardless, females working as deminers shows that we are just as capable as men and that is something to be very proud of.
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