The Taliban announced the end of the war in Afghanistan. This Tuesday, the Taliban spokesman spoke about the enacted general amnesty and women’s rights under Taliban leadership. Although he did not go into details, the government spokesman assured that the women will be able to work, but asked that they wait for the government to establish what the new rules will be. While everyday life is already beginning to show some characteristics of the new regime: Few women were on the streets in fear of what the Taliban would impose, men traded their Western clothes for shalwar kameez, baggy clothes traditional in Afghanistan and state television broadcasts were mostly reserved for Islamic programs.
“The war is over”
Afghanistan’s new government spoke to the population on Tuesday at the first press conference since taking power after taking control of the capital Kabul last Sunday. “The war is over, [el líder de los talibanes] he forgave everyone “, declared the spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, who assured that the general amnesty is for all state employees, whom he called “to resume their daily lives with complete confidence”. “No one will knock on your door to ask who helped”, He said.
Questions about women’s rights were the most repeated during the press conference. “We promise to let women work in accordance with the principles of Islam”Mujahid replied. the brutality of Former Taliban regime that from 1996 to 2001 imposed an ultra-strict version of Islamic law: girls could not go to school, women were often confined to their homes and could not go out without a partner. Nor could they be civil servants or study. Those accused of adultery were flogged and stoned to death.
Some women gathered briefly at the entrance to the “green zone” to ask for the right to return to work, the Taliban tried to disperse them until civilians convinced them to leave. at the press conference Mujahid guaranteed that there will be no discrimination against women, but “always within the margins we have”. “We will allow women to work and study (…) women will be a very active part of society, but within the framework of Islam“, he stressed, since ” women are needed and they will be able to work “.
Mujahid noted that “the issue of women is very important, Islam is committed to women’s rights within the framework of sharia (or Islamic law)” and women will be able to participate “in different areas based on our norms. And regulations” .
this tuesday, Spokesperson for the Taliban Political Office in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen, ensured that girls and women would continue to attend schools as well as have access to higher education in Afghanistan.. “We have announced this policy more than once, at international conferences like the one in Moscow, at the Doha conference. Our leader mentioned this in his speeches. So this is our policy“Shaheen said in an interview with Sky News from Great Britain.
“In all the areas that are falling on our side in Afghanistan, there were thousands of schools, girls’ schools, universities. They are all working,” he said. The Taliban spokesman also emphasized that “even” a woman can be seen presenting the news. “He went back to work,” he said.
Types of veil
Although when asked about the possibility of women holding political positions under the Taliban regime, Shaheen replied that “Our policy is clear. They can access education and work, that’s one thing ”. “They can hold offices, but they can hold those offices in the context of Islamic law., so that there is a general structure for them, “said the Taliban spokesman, who stressed that women should be covered according to “Islamic norms”, but that the wearing of the burqa (full veil) will not be mandatory for women, “There are different types” of veils.
“The burka is not the only hijab [velo] that can be loaded. There are different types of hijab that are not limited to the burka “Shaheen declared. When they ruled the country between 1996 and 2001, girls’ schools were closed, women could not travel or work and were forced to wear public hats. the burka, which covers the entire body and face, with fabric mesh at eye level. Previously, the Taliban Culture Commission Leader Enamullah Samangani, announced the amnesty and encouraged women to join the government. Samangani described women as “the main victims in more than 40 years of crisis in Afghanistan”.
“Cautious optimism”
For your part, UNICEF Chief of Operations in Afghanistan Mustapha Ben Messaoud, I claim that the messages received from the Taliban about educating girls were “more or less the same”, with some “small differences”. “There are areas of the country where we were told they were waiting for guidance from their leadership, religious and political. Elsewhere, they said they wanted to see girls’ education and schools working,” she added. Messaoud stated that UNICEF maintains a “cautious optimism”, while in the country 11 of the UN agency’s 13 offices have remained operational since the Taliban came to power.
While the Former Vice President of Afghanistan Amrullah Saleh, who retired to Panshir Valley, the only region that escaped Taliban control, referred to its right to assume the country’s presidency after President Ghani’s resignation. “Currently I am in my country and I am the legitimate provisional president. I ask all leaders for their support and consensus, “he explained in his Twitter account.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Spokesperson Michelle Bachelet, referred to the Taliban’s promises and the fear of the population. “These promises must be honored and for the time being – understandably, given history – these statements have been met with skepticism.”, He said Rupert Colville to the press in Geneva.
In front of the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, dozens of people protested to demand women’s rights, freedom of expression and other human rights in Afghanistan, with posters saying “We want peace” and “Help Afghanistan”. While the The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) called for a ban on the expulsion of Afghans to their country of origin, even if their asylum application was rejected, given the “imminent risk” they took in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.
In an offensive that began in May after the announcement of the withdrawal of US troops but has deepened in the past ten days, Taliban forces took control of provincial capitals until they captured the capital Kabul last Sunday.
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