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The Taliban rulers in Afghanistan set up a department “Promoting Virtue and Preventing Crime” in the building that used to be the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and escorted World Bank staff as part of the coercive action on Saturday.
This is the latest disturbing sign that the Taliban are restricting women’s right to enter the government, only one month before they occupy the capital, Kabul. During the first rule of the 1990s, the Taliban deprived girls and women of their right to education and prohibited them from participating in public life.
Witnesses said that in addition, three explosions targeting Taliban vehicles occurred in Jalalabad, the eastern provincial capital, on Saturday, killing 3 people and injuring 20 others. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the ISIL fighters stationed in the area were enemies of the Taliban.
The Taliban are facing major economic and security issues as they try to govern, and ISIL’s increasing challenges will further consume its resources.
‘The Forgotten Girl’
In Kabul, a new logo appeared outside the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, announcing that it is now the “Ministry of Missions and Guidance, and the Propagation of Virtue and Crime Prevention.”
Project member Sharif Akhtar said that the staff of the World Bank’s $100 million Women’s Economic Empowerment and Rural Development Project were escorted away from the site on Saturday, which is run by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
Videos posted on social media showed that female workers of the ministry protested outside after losing their jobs. Taliban officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Mabouba Suraj, head of the Afghan Women’s Network, said she was shocked by the Taliban government’s series of orders restricting women and girls.
At the same time, the Ministry of Education, run by the Taliban, asked boys in grades 7 to 12 to return to school with their male teachers on Saturday, but did not mention that girls in these grades would return to school. Earlier, the Taliban Minister of Higher Education stated that despite the gender segregation, girls will have equal opportunities for education.
“It’s really getting more and more troublesome… Is this a stage to be forgotten by girls?” Suraj said. “I know they don’t believe in giving an explanation, but the explanation is very important.”
Suraj speculated that these conflicting statements may reflect differences within the Taliban, as they seek to consolidate their power, and the more pragmatic people in the movement have lost to the hardliners among them, at least for now.
Statements made by Taliban leaders often reflect a willingness to engage with the world, open public spaces to women and girls, and protect minorities in Afghanistan. But the orders to the grassroots personnel are contradictory. On the contrary, restrictions have been implemented, especially for women.
The United Nations said it was “deeply concerned” about the future of Afghan girls’ schooling.
“It is vital that all girls, including older girls, can resume their studies without delay. For this, we need female teachers to resume teaching,” UNICEF said.
Afghan women’s rights defenders call on the Taliban to protect their achievements and education [Reuters]‘Find a middle ground’
Suraj is an Afghan-American who returned to Afghanistan in 2003 to promote women’s rights and education. She said many of her fellow activists have left the country.
She said she stayed and tried to contact the Taliban and find a middle ground, but until now it has not been possible for the Taliban leadership to meet with activists who stayed in the country to discuss the way forward with women.
“We have to talk. We have to find a middle ground,” she said.
Although still marginalized, Afghan women have fought for basic rights over the past 20 years, becoming legislators, judges, pilots, and police.
The Taliban have shown little willingness to respect these rights-there are no women in the government, and many people have been prevented from returning to work.
An airport official said that also on Saturday, an international flight of Pakistan National Airlines departed from Kabul Airport with 322 passengers on board, and Iranian Mahan Airlines had 187 passengers when it took off.
According to Washington’s peace envoy, a Qatar Airways flight took more Americans out of Afghanistan on Friday. This is the third time this Middle Eastern airline has carried out such airlifts since the Taliban took over and the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan.
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