Uncertain Future of Women

Uncertain future of women

Who are the Taliban?
The Taliban, which means students in the pashto language, emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan. This was seen following the withdrawal of soviet troops from Afghanistan. It is believed that the predominant Pashtun movement first appeared in the religious seminaries- that was mostly paid by money from Saudi Arabia- which preached a hard-line form of Sunni Islam.

The promise made by the Taliban, in Pashtun areas straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan, was to restore peace and security and enforce their own version of sharia or Islamic law, once in power.

From the south-western Afghanistan, Taliban quickly escalated their influence. In September 1995, they captured the province of Herat, bordering Iran and in a year, they captured the Afghan capital- Kabul, overthrowing the regime of President Rabbani. By the year 1998, the Taliban controlled almost 90% of Afghanistan.

Afghans generally welcomed the Taliban, when they first appeared in the scene. Their popularity was largely due to stamping out corruption and curbing lawlessness as well as making roads and the areas under their control safe for commerce to flourish. But the Taliban also imposed punishments that were in line with their interpretation of sharia law- such as public execution of convicted murderers or adulterers. Men were required to grow a beard and women were to wear an all-covering burkha.

The Taliban banned television, music and cinema, and disapproved of girls over the age of 10 going to school. Thus, they were accused of various human rights and cultural abuses.

The world’s attention was drawn to the Taliban in Afghanistan in the wake of the 11 September 2001 World Trade Center attacks in New York. Taliban were accused of providing a sanctuary for the prime suspect- Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda movement.

On October 7, 2001 a US-led military coalition launched attacks in Afghanistan and by the first week of December, the Taliban regime had collapsed. However, the groups then leader and several senior figures evaded capture and reportedly took refuge in Pakistani city of Quetta.

Despite the higher number of troops in Afghanistan, the Taliban gradually regained and extended their influence. There were also numerous attacks on Kabul, in September 2012, the group carried out a high-profile raid on Nato’s camp Bastion base. Hopes of a negotiated peace were raised in 2013, when the Taliban announced plans to open an office in Qatar. But, the mistrust on all sides remained high and the violence went on.

Recent Happenings in Afghanistan-
In the year following the US-Taliban peace deal of February 2020- which was a culmination of a long spell of direct talks- the Taliban has shifted its tactics from complex attacks in cities and on military outposts to a wave of targeted assassinations that has terrorized Afghan civilians.

The targets- journalists, judges, women in positions of power and peace activists suggest that the Taliban has not changed its extremist ideologies, only its strategy.

There were grave concerns from Afghan officials over the government's vulnerability to the Taliban without international support, the US President, Joe Biden, announced in April 2021 that the American forces would leave the country by September 11- two decades since the fall of the World Trade Center.

The abrupt withdrawal of the United States and failed Troika negotiations in Doha have resulted in more violence on the ground, reminding Afghans of what they suffered 25 years ago, in the loss of their entire social structure and health infrastructure, the dismissal of women’s rights and a complete shutdown of the education system. As a result, many are fleeing Afghanistan in fear of what is yet to come.

One of the big questions with the rise of the Taliban is- what will happen to the women and girls in Afghanistan?

Nobel peace prize winner- Malala Yousafzai- who was shot aged 15 by the Taliban for advocating and campaigning for girls education in Pakistan-expressed concern about the situation and for the safety of afghan women and girls. A lot of Afghan girls have been asked to get married by the age of 12, 15. However, the Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen says that the group will respect the rights of women and minorities as per “Afghan norms and Islamic value”.

Activist Pashtana Durrani says that people, especially girls must be wary. “For starters, you have to understand that what they say and what they are putting in practice are two completely different things.” she told the BBC. “Girls in Herat, they were not able to go to their universities; girls in Kandahar, they were asked to go to their home and their male relatives were asked to fill in their positions.” According to her, the Taliban is looking for legitimacy from all the different countries, to be accepted as the legitimate government of Afghanistan and thus claim to support women’s rights but what are they doing in practice?

She also pointed out that when the Taliban talks about women’s rights, they talk about it in vague terms: do they mean mobility rights, socialising rights, political rights, representative rights, voting rights?! It is not clear whether they mean all these rights, or some of these rights.

Taliban Reality for Women and Girls:
· A woman who defied Taliban orders by running a home school for girls was killed in front of her family and friends.
· A woman caught trying to flee Afghanistan with a man not related to her was stoned to death for adultery.
· An elderly woman was brutally beaten with a metal cable until her leg was broken because her ankle was accidentally showing from underneath her burqa.
· Women and girls died of curable ailments because male doctors were not allowed to treat them.
· Two women accused of prostitution were publicly hung.

Right now, as the world watches on in horror, there are thousands of women holed up in their houses, or hiding with their friends, unsure when the knock on the door will come.