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A few days after the Taliban took control of Kabul, I left my beloved country, Afghanistan.
I don’t want to leave, but I have no choice. Soon after the Taliban took control of the capital, its fighters started looking for me. They showed up at my house (I have left for my safety) and harassed my family and the people who worked for me. They beat my security guard and violently interrogated people who knew me, hoping to find me.
Obviously, my life is in danger, but this is not the reason why I chose to go abroad. I left because I knew that if I stayed, they would also come to my family.
In 2018, I became the mayor of Maidanshar, a conservative town in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, where the Taliban received widespread support. Since then, I have experienced several attempts in my life. The Taliban and their supporters did not want to see a young woman as an authority, so they tried every means to intimidate me and let me leave my position. At the end of 2020, they killed my father because of my job.
When the Taliban took control of this country, I knew that the organization would not hesitate to hurt other members of my family to control me. My family does not participate in politics, they just want to live in peace. They have sacrificed a lot for the choices I made. I have to leave this country to ensure their safety.
Nevertheless, the Taliban now claim that it has changed. Its leaders insist that under the Taliban, every Afghan, including professional women, journalists, civil rights activists and political opponents, will be safe. They asked people not to leave Afghanistan and invited those who had left to return home. They insisted that those who worked in the government before the Taliban took over will be allowed to return to the office.
I don’t believe these.
Even if I put all my bad experiences with them aside, the way they continue to treat Afghans who don’t think like them or act according to their rules shows that their promises are empty.
Just a few days ago, Taliban members attacked the home of doctor and civil rights activist Fahima Rahmati. They beat her and harassed her family. They took her brother and brother-in-law. The whereabouts of those who have not been accused of any crimes are still unknown.
The story of Fahima is just one of many stories. My female colleagues and friends in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan told me that they are still not allowed to return to the office. My colleagues in the Ministry of Defense told me that they tried to enter the Ministry of Defense two days ago, but the Taliban did not let them into the building and told them not to come back.
If the Taliban were truly committed to protecting our safety and respecting our hard-won rights and freedoms, we would not hear such stories every day.
There may be some people in the Taliban leadership who really want to keep their promises to respect human rights, but the Taliban are not united. There are different factions within the group, and they have completely different visions for the future of the country.
For example, just a few days after the Taliban announced the new government, Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Refugee Minister and prominent figure in the Haqqani network Khalil Ur-Rahman • Haqqani exchanged hard-line speeches within the president. The palace, because their supporters quarreled nearby. It was later revealed that the two factions were vying for who should contribute to the Taliban’s victory over the United States, and how the new cabinet will distribute power.
How can we believe that the Taliban will honor its commitment to human rights and inclusiveness, while its leaders are fighting each other for more power and influence?
Recently, the Taliban have also claimed that the international community can only help the Afghan people through contact with the new Taliban government. This is not true.
My people undoubtedly need humanitarian assistance and international support. But global leaders do not need to engage with the Taliban, nor do they need to legalize the Taliban to help Afghans in need. Many international organizations and respected NGOs are still active in Afghanistan. They have worked in the country for at least 20 years and have extensive experience in helping communities living under Taliban rule. The international community should contact them, not the Taliban, and find ways to help the Afghan people.
Nevertheless, contact between the international community and the Taliban government is increasing every day. Global leaders have made a big mistake-they abandoned my people 20 years later, brought us back to square one, and let the Taliban take control of the country.
They are now doubling down on correcting their mistakes by contacting the Taliban and legitimizing the Taliban’s baseless claims on behalf of the Afghan people. Their actions will only embolden the Taliban and convince its leaders that they can continue to abuse Afghans and still find their place on the international stage.
If the leaders of the international community really want to help the Afghan people and make up for their past mistakes, they need to end all contact with the Taliban until the organization provides some credible guarantees to respect the basic human rights and freedoms of the Afghan people. All Afghans.
I know that in democratic countries, political leaders act according to the wishes of their citizens. This is why I call on every man and woman in the world who care about the Afghan people to put pressure on their leaders not to contact or recognize the Taliban government until the protection of our human rights is in place. I call on them not to support the Taliban, but to support Afghan civil society actors like me. They are working hard to ensure that all Afghans, especially Afghan women, have the rights and freedoms to make them feel safe and fulfilled in their home country. Life life.
If the Taliban wants to be recognized, if it wants to be legalized, it first needs to have a dialogue with us — the Afghan civil society — not with foreign leaders and institutions. From the beginning, I kept telling them that I was going to sit down and talk. I want to talk to them about women’s rights, civil liberties and democracy. I’m ready.
I am Muslim. I read a lot of books about my religion, and I know the rights of women under Islam. Therefore, I hope that the leaders of the Taliban will explain to me what they mean when they say they will give women all their rights under Sharia. When they said this, which Sharia law were they talking about? Before seeking recognition from the international community, they need to clarify these issues with us Afghans.
Today, the Taliban does not represent me. It does not represent my mother, my sisters, my colleagues and millions of other Afghan men and women who are afraid of what their lives will be like under the rule of the Taliban.
But this does not mean that the Taliban will never become the legitimate government of Afghanistan-it can. If the Taliban leaders provide a solid guarantee that human rights, especially women’s rights, will be protected under their rule—not empty statements, but meaningful actions—then we can accept them.
At that time, and only then, can I regard them as the legitimate government of my country-I can forget what they have done to my father, my family, and my people and accept them.
The international community has made enough mistakes in Afghanistan. Until we Afghan people accept the Taliban government as our true representative, they should not increase these errors by contacting the Taliban government.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
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