The Taliban: Will They Ever Change?
By
Parvez Hafeez
2 January
2023
Translated
into English by Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
Don't The Taliban
Realise That They Cannot Hope To Join The World Community On An Equal Footing
Until They Respect The Fundamental Rights And Freedoms Of All Afghan Citizens,
Including Women?
Main Points
1. Why is the
lady of Afghanistan denied this right to study while acquiring an education is
a compulsory duty placed on both men and women?
2. In the
country that has long been devastated by terrorism, war, and civil war, a new
wave of terrorist assaults has also begun.
3. In recent
months, bombings in madrasas and schools have murdered dozens of innocent boys
and girls.
4. Women have
historically suffered the most as a result of the Taliban's regressive acts,
and this suffering still persists today.
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Adela held her protest in front of the
gate of Kabul University but it was stopped within 15 minutes
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Girls in
Afghanistan are no longer allowed to attend higher education institutions, as
the Taliban leadership already forbade them from attending secondary schools. A
new rule prohibiting women from enrolling in universities was announced last
week. Why is the lady of Afghanistan denied this right to study while acquiring
an education is a compulsory duty placed on both men and women? The recent news
out of Afghanistan has been disappointing and depressing. Public flogging as a
form of punishment has been reinstated. Recently, the victim's father was
handed a gun and instructed to shoot the murderer in the southwest part of the
country known as Farah so that he might exact his own retribution. At the
invitation of the management, hundreds of spectators arrived to see this
horrifying scene of a man being brutally murdered in a football stadium.
In the
country that has long been devastated by terrorism, war, and civil war, a new
wave of terrorist assaults has also begun. In recent months, bombings in
madrasas and schools have murdered dozens of innocent boys and girls. There
have been attacks on the embassies of Pakistan, Russia and China, which are
considered the sympathizers of the Taliban. While this game of craziness and
terror is ongoing, the economy is also taking hiccups. The Taliban are acting
as though they have promised to make everyone more wary and rebellious, instead
of being successful in gaining the approval of the United Nations.
The Taliban
pledged to respect human rights, particularly the rights of women, as part of
the deal they reached with the United States in Doha in 2020. When the Taliban
seized power in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American troops in
August 2021, their leaders led the world to think that they would impose a new
moderate and fair government in which all residents would be treated equally
regardless of ethnicity, language, creed, and ideology. The Taliban gave the
assurance that girls will be granted the freedom to attend school, go to
college, and work in order to calm Western fears about their long-standing
attitude toward women. However, they broke their word.
Islamic
nations like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, in
addition to the United States and the United Kingdom, strongly opposed the
decision to forbid women from pursuing higher education and cautioned the
Afghan government to exercise caution. In a statement, the Saudi Foreign
Ministry urged the Taliban to grant Afghan women all of their legal rights, the
most crucial of which is the right to education, as it will boost security,
stability, development, and prosperity in the country. The Taliban official
claims that this decision breaches both Islamic principles and fundamental
human rights. The Turkish Foreign Minister also referred to the ban as inhumane
and un-Islamic.
Saudi
Arabia first acknowledged the Taliban administration in 1996, and since then it
has gradually patronised and backed it. The Taliban could benefit from Saudi
Arabian government policies that support women's education. Saudi Arabia has a
larger proportion of female students than nations like India, China, and
Mexico. In all Muslim nations outside of Afghanistan, girls and women are not
prohibited from attending school or college.
The fact
that Afghan girls began to cry when they heard about the Taliban's most recent
decision gives some indication of how engaged they are in education. Few people
are aware that, prior to the Taliban assuming power in 1996, Kabul University
had an equal number of male and female students and 60% female staff. 70% of
teachers in schools and 40% of hospital doctors were women. Over 35 lakh girls
are currently enrolled in school, and over the past 20 years, the country's
female literacy rate has doubled.
The Taliban
announced a general amnesty during the Doha negotiations and after hoisting the
victory flag over Kabul, giving the world the impression that they would give
up their old ways and install a moderate, peaceful system in their second term
of power where there would be no room for repression. In contrast to their
claims and promises, the Taliban have demonstrated during the past seventeen
months that neither their political or social outlooks nor moral principles
have changed. They are committed to implementing the previous, radical policies
throughout the entire nation. These are the same retaliatory actions that the
world saw during their first five years in power (1996 to 2001), which included
restrictions on everything from listening to music to shaving the beard.
Women have
historically suffered the most as a result of the Taliban's regressive acts,
and this suffering still persists today. The reason given was that they used to
show up to college dressed as if they were going to a wedding. Now that the
Taliban mentality has taken hold, is there any room left for a reason? Is
depriving women of education a special agenda of the Taliban? Does the Taliban
have a license for the violation of women's rights? And the reason why, in the
Taliban's eyes, only women deserve these closures and limitations is a
question.
The
dictatorial decision of the Taliban is being criticized all over the world. The
Taliban are having trouble breaking through Afghanistan's diplomatic isolation
and winning over the rest of the world. Do they not comprehend that their most
recent action will just make things more challenging for them? Don't they
realise that they cannot hope to join the world community on an equal footing
until they respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Afghan citizens,
including women?
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Urdu
Article: The Taliban: Will They Ever Change? کیاطالبان کبھی بدلیں گے؟
URL: https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/afghan-taliban-women-education/d/128778