Unclear situation in Afghanistan

Fahad Ali discusses the current situation in Afghanistan

The Taliban regime’s Unclear situation in Afghanistan is inching towards taking the country back to its earlier rule in the 1990s that was globally condemned. The Taliban are now changing the social landscape of the country and are bringing back the misogynist pattern of life and will only accept their way of life. They started depriving women of their due rights that they had enjoyed during two decades of the rule under previous Afghan governments. Prior to coming back to power last year the Taliban promised a softer version of the harsh Islamist rule and it was expected that they will realise that during two decades of US-led military intervention in Afghanistan, women and girls made marginal gains in the deeply patriarchal nation. However, after taking power they took a U-turn and banned women from travelling alone and teenage girls barred from secondary schools.
Since surging back to power last year the Taliban have imposed a slew of restrictions on civil society, many focused on reining in the rights of women and girls. Earlier this month Afghanistan’s supreme leader issued a diktat for women to cover up fully in public, including their faces, ideally with the traditional burqa. The feared Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice ordered women TV presenters to follow suit though previously they had only been required to wear a headscarf. The steps taken by the Taliban resulted in widespread discontentment amongst the womenfolk of Afghanistan and their stance was supported globally but the regime ignored the opposition. Now the women have started to stand up for their rights and the women presenters on Afghanistan’s leading TV channels went on air without covering their faces, defying a Taliban order that they conceal their appearance to comply with the group’s austere brand of Islam.
The women presenters are concerned that if they cover their faces, the next thing they will be told is to stop working and this is why they have not observed the order so far. Reacting to this breach the vice ministry has accused women of violating the Taliban directive taking the position that anyone who lives under a particular system and government has to obey the laws and orders of that system, so they must implement the order. The government said media managers and the male guardians of defiant women presenters would also be liable for penalties if the order was not observed. The Taliban have also demanded that women government employees be fired if they fail to follow the new dress code adding that men working in government also risk suspension if their wives or daughters fail to comply. Television channels have already stopped showing dramas and soap operas featuring women, following orders from Taliban authorities.
On the other hand, the Taliban will sign an agreement with the United Arab Emirates on operating airports in Afghanistan. It was not immediately clear whether the agreement went beyond existing arrangements or if it included airport security, a sensitive issue for the Taliban who fought for decades against US-led NATO troops and say they do not want the return of international forces. The point of contention however is that Qatar is asserting it’s already laid sown condition that Qatari security personnel be present at the airport. Qatar and Turkey had already sent temporary technical teams to help airport operations and security after the Taliban took over power. The airport talks have demonstrated how countries are seeking to assert their influence in Afghanistan even as the hard-line group largely remains an international pariah and its government not formally recognised by any country. The Emiratis are keen to counter diplomatic clout enjoyed there by Qatar and it is well known that Qatar and the UAE have had strained relations for years as they compete for regional influence.
Related to these problems is the critical probe undertaken by the British Parliament aimed at determining the reasons for the UK’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last year that they term as full of systemic failures of leadership, planning and preparation. The probe mentions a fundamental lack of planning, grip or leadership at a time of national emergency before and during the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021 adding that the British withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disaster and a betrayal of their allies that will damage the UK’s interests for years to come.
This probe is the result of consistent criticism faced by the British government on its hurried withdrawal following the decision of its ally the United States to end its 20-year presence. Hundreds of Afghans eligible for relocation were left behind many with their lives potentially at risk after details of staff and job applicants were left at the abandoned British embassy compound in Kabul. At the time of withdrawal the British PM Johnson hailed the mission though the British foreign secretary at the time, Dominic Raab, was heavily criticised for not immediately leaving a beach holiday when the Taliban took control. TW

Fahad Ali is associated with maritime trade