The Taliban have a new excuse everyday for the school ban, and their reasons are not logical. Currently, those who suffer the most in Afghanistan are the women. The mistreatment of Afghan women at the hands of the Taliban has more to do with their hardline interpretation of Islam and the fear that if women come forward and become equal shareholders in the agency, they may influence the public against the Taliban.
“I was someone who was always out and about and active in the society, but now I am stuck inside four walls”, says a former women’s affair official while speaking to Al Jazeera on the situation of women under Taliban rule. The young generation of Afghan women feels that the Taliban are more concerned about trivial issues such as the kind of hijab Afghan women should practice while ignoring problems such as lack of economic and civic participation for the gender group that makes up half of the total population.
Many restrictions on women came from the Ministry of Vice and Virtue that replaced the former Ministry for Women Development. Some of the rules are:
- Women are not allowed to travel long distances without being accompanied by a male family member (mahram),
- They have to cover their faces with a veil in public,
- Women’s presence is restricted at most of the offices, but (ironically) they are still being paid while at home,
- Girls from classes 6-12 grade are not allowed to attend school.
However, the Taliban have not defined it all in black and white. The rules are vague and inconsistent, and one cannot tell what might offend the watchdogs of vice and virtue. The Taliban also say that the ban on schools and work is temporary, and they are trying to devise a ‘mechanism’ to regulate such matters. Sadeq Akif Muhajir, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, said while talking to Al Jazeera that Islam allows women to pursue education and work. “So, who am I to stop?”
The Taliban have different justifications for the ban on schools. They say that there are problems with girls’ uniforms or they currently do not have enough space to accommodate girls and boys in separate classrooms and men and women in different office cubicles. However, these reasons are not concrete enough to justify the ban. Rather, it shows the apathy and lack of prudence on the Taliban’s part in addressing the needs and giving rights to the female citizens of the country.
Tafsir Siaposh, a teacher and women’s rights defender, says that the Taliban have a new excuse every day for the school ban, and their reasons are not logical. Siaposh is upfront when it comes to raising her voice. She has even confronted a Taliban official in a TV program. She asked the official if they had ever considered women’s say in governmental affairs. “Do you know who is suffering the most in Afghanistan today? It is us – women.”, she remarked. Siaposh says that she is not afraid of being punished or persecuted because what she stands for is right and just. She also said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan likes to hear the truth so they can improve the system of governance, so if they intend to do, they must listen to and accept it.
When the previous Taliban regime collapsed, and the US forces took over in 2001, the country had reforms under the Karzai and Ghani governments. The new constitution helped preserve the rights of women. Over the last 20 years before the Taliban regained power, the country seemed to have made considerable progress in education, employment opportunities, and healthcare, especially for women in the urban areas.
However, the Taliban view those two decades as a period of regression and decay of Islamic values. Now back in charge, they want to restore the Islamic order. Mr. Muhajir says that the 20 years of occupation brainwashed the Afghan people, and the Taliban would try to ‘fix’ and ‘advise’ people to rid themselves of this mindset.
There are people, including women, who support the Taliban. Susan Rahmati, a former teacher, told Al Jazeera that Afghanistan has broken the shackles of western slavery and cleaned itself of hedonism. “It is right to say that under the previous government, there were opportunities for women, but they were also subject to objectification.” She further said that women were indoctrinated with western ideas, and, hence now they do not accept the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
However, what Rahmati says may not be perceived as accurate as women in Afghanistan under the previous government(s) would mostly cover their heads and wear full clothing. So, the Taliban and their proponents’ claim that women had been brainwashed or manipulated by the previous regime lacks a rational explanation.
The mistreatment of Afghan women at the hands of the Taliban has more to do with their hardline interpretation of Islam and the fear that if women come forward and become equal shareholders in the agency, they may influence the public against the Taliban and overthrow the theocratic rule.
They may be desperate for international recognition, but they certainly do not seem to ask for it at the cost of civil liberties. Maybe, they have been carrying this notion that the world would not overlook Afghanistan given the humanitarian crisis, and, hence, engagement with the international community continues. Besides, countries like China, Russia, and Central Asian Republics are expediting economic activity with the de facto authorities. So, dealing with the issue of girls’ schools, or curtailing extremism on Afghan soil against other countries does not seem to be a pebble in the shoe.
This puts into question the prudence and utility of continued negotiations with the Taliban and hoping to make real progress when there has been no alteration in the situation that might help create or even compute a different conclusion than what has occurred thus far.
Contrasting worldviews are not the only problem in this situation; there are endgames too. Any improvement to the current state of affairs in Afghanistan will be heavily influenced by how power is structured, justified, and controlled, as well as where its source is located — that is, by the design of the political order, corresponding institutional architectures, and ecosystem-level resilience.
For instance, the Taliban do not seek authority or desire to engage in political campaigns. They do not just want to have all the power; they also want to be the one who generates and grants authority. In these circumstances, engagement and negotiations with the group will likely yield very little progress because what the international community demands of them (such as gender equality and an inclusive, representative political system) will prevent them from maintaining such a stronghold on power.
Afghanistan requires a mechanism for governance and power distribution to prevent power accumulation, and enable a people-oriented social system, which places all citizens as the source of power. These arrangements must also have a clear, context-responsive framework for accountability and how power and authority are granted and revoked. Additionally, it must have concrete and institutionalized checks and balances. These characteristics, objectives, and respect for the sociocultural sensibilities of every person do not have to be mutually exclusive.
Only a broad-based, inclusive political process can bring about such a revolution. However, the chances of such a procedure under the current conditions are slim, given that the Taliban did not agree to a popular mandate, did not even seek it, and refused elections.
Another option would entail putting in place a short-term transitional administration, holding extensive consultations to create a constitution that could support structural aspects of the political system that are in the public interest, and then holding free and fair elections. The United Nations is the only organization with widespread credibility and track record required to support such a procedure. Ultimately, whatsoever framework develops in the future must be one that all Afghans, not just the elite, jointly consider and decide.
The Taliban dogma would only create a failed state. Political and ethnic inclusion and upholding human rights are the foundations upon which sovereign and welfare states run. The IEA’s interpretation of Islam certainly is not what Islam preaches. If the Taliban do not want to apply the ‘western’ ideals of democracy, they might need to look into the true teachings and the concept of the nation-state in Islam.
