The return of the Taliban to power in August 2021 has initiated a complex migration crisis with profound implications. Fear and uncertainty have gripped various segments of the Afghan population, especially those associated with the previous government, international organizations, or human rights defenders. Journalists, women, minorities, and activists face potential harassment and torture, forming essential components of the migration out of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Distorted and strict interpretations of Islamic laws, particularly concerning women’s rights, have compounded multifaceted insecurities, prompting Afghans to seek refuge in neighboring and migrant-receptive countries. Economic challenges alongside disruptions in economic activities significantly contribute to the surge in migration. Ongoing conflicts and the Taliban’s resurgence have led to widespread internal displacement and intensified humanitarian challenges. Urban centers and their surroundings are under pressure, with limited access to essential services for the displaced. Traveling outside Afghanistan is perilous due to neighboring countries closing borders, making illegal crossings dangerous and exposing refugees to exploitation by traffickers. Diplomatic challenges, security concerns, and debates over resettlement policies hinder effective solutions. Western countries grappling with internal issues exercise caution in accepting Afghan refugees. Taliban policies, particularly regarding women, former government officials, and minorities, create specific challenges, compelling many to seek asylum abroad.
Addressing this migration crisis requires a sustainable and comprehensive effort. Beyond immediate humanitarian aid, solutions should involve regional cooperation for security and stability, economic development to create opportunities, protection for vulnerable groups, facilitation of asylum, and support for internally displaced persons. This article aims to explore migration challenges and factors, including political and economic aspects, gender apartheid, the imposition of restrictions, distorted interpretations of religion, suppression of freedom of expression, and retaliatory crimes against former government employees under Taliban control in Afghanistan.
Political Factors
One of the fundamental reasons driving the people of Afghanistan to migrate to developed countries after the chaos in the country and the return of the Taliban is the political factors and turmoil in the current situation in Afghanistan. The most basic political rights of an individual, such as freedom of expression, have been taken away from the people. Targeted massacres, terror, and horror continue relentlessly.
- Fear of Death: The return of the Taliban has instilled fear among various segments of the Afghan population, especially those associated with the previous government, international organizations, or human rights defenders. Individuals, including journalists, women, ethnic and religious minorities, and civil activists, fear harassment under the Taliban’s distorted interpretation of Islamic laws. Many from these groups have been detained, killed, or forced to flee. The fear and horror of the Taliban stem from the fact that the people of Afghanistan witnessed assassinations, explosions, suicides, and indiscriminate killings by this group over the past 20 years. Experiencing five years of Taliban rule from the late 20th century to the beginning of the current century adds to the fear.
- Suppression of Freedom of Expression: The Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia includes limitations on freedom of expression in Afghanistan. The Taliban, with their strict laws, do not accept any criticism in the realm of governance, denying the people of Afghanistan the most basic human right, freedom. This has led to silencing voices in Afghanistan, and the Taliban silences critics of their regime by killing them in makeshift courts or capturing them in their detention centers, subjecting them to torture and execution. According to human rights organizations’ reports, the Taliban, after gaining control of Afghanistan, has killed or suppressed hundreds of civil, social, and political activists, journalists, artists, and human rights defenders for reasons related to freedom of expression. These cases have created terror and fear among various segments of society. As a result, people are attempting to escape from Afghanistan and migrate to other countries to seek better opportunities, accelerating the wave of migration from Afghanistan.
- Political Oppositions: Former government officials and individuals who fought against the Taliban within the framework of the republican system are now mostly migrants from other countries. Their fear arises from differences in political, ethnic, and religious ideologies. Some want to continue the fight against the Taliban, seeking opportunities for conflict with the Taliban in a third country and establishing diplomatic relations with countries opposing the Taliban’s ideology to challenge and sideline the group. Others have migrated out of fear for their lives because they fought against the Taliban for 20 years and do not believe in the group’s amnesty. A third group has been forced to leave Afghanistan due to their religious and sectarian beliefs. Since the Taliban is an extremely extremist religious ideological group that respects no values and beliefs other than its own, they suppress followers of other religions and faiths. Consequently, religious minorities, including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and Jews, have been forced to leave Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban. This issue has further contributed to the migration from Afghanistan.
Economic Factors
Other factors contributing to the fundamental challenges and social issues faced by the people of Afghanistan under Taliban control are economic factors. Afghanistan is grappling with significant economic challenges that contribute to the exacerbation of the migration trend.
- Unemployment: The Taliban regime has disrupted economic activities, leading to widespread destruction of jobs. Changes in government and leadership have resulted in the expulsion of employees, especially those associated with the previous government, international organizations, and private organizations that have ceased operations due to political equations and sectors perceived as incompatible with the Taliban’s ideology. Unemployment is one of the main reasons for the migration of the Afghan people to third countries and migrant-friendly nations to find employment and support their families.
- Disruption in Economic Activities: The Taliban’s control over the country and the subsequent political instability have disrupted various economic activities. Trades, especially those perceived as incompatible with the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic laws, face increased restrictions, compelling many to halt their operations. Distrust towards the ruling group and numerous restrictions imposed by them have led to the bankruptcy of investments, causing investment withdrawals and the cessation of activities by hundreds of companies and thousands of foreign investors in Afghanistan. This situation has resulted in the unemployment of hundreds of thousands of citizens, contributing to a severe economic crisis and recession in Afghanistan. These constraints and disruptions to economic stability within the country act as convincing factors for individuals seeking migration abroad.
- Lack of Observation on International Aid and Taliban’s Financial Corruption: Humanitarian aid sent to Afghanistan under the Taliban’s control is not closely monitored by international organizations. Deposited in the Central Bank of Afghanistan under the Taliban’s control, this aid directly goes into the pockets of Taliban leaders, with a minimal portion reaching the people of Afghanistan, and that too at the discretion of the Taliban group.
The intertwined nature of economic, political, and security challenges in Afghanistan highlights the complexity of the migration outlook. These economic factors create a challenging environment for Afghans, prompting many to consider migration as a means to escape economic turmoil and seek a more stable livelihood abroad, contributing to the large wave of migrants.
Gender Apartheid:
The restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women and their gender apartheid policies against sexual minorities and women constitute two of the three main factors leading to the migration of a significant number of Afghan people to immigrant-friendly countries. The Taliban, through the implementation of strict policies and the perpetration of gender apartheid, have created numerous challenges in society. By imposing restrictions on women and committing gender apartheid, including violence, suppression, and harassment, they have prompted the migration of a substantial number of people from Afghanistan to neighboring and immigrant-friendly countries. Women constitute half of the country’s population, and every Afghan family aspires to educate both sons and daughters. However, the Taliban’s restrictions hinder the education of girls, leading families to migrate to neighboring and immigrant-friendly countries to secure freedom and educational and employment opportunities for their women and daughters.
Escape from the Taliban:
Despite proclaiming general amnesty and claiming to ensure security, the Taliban are recognized as the primary enemy of the Afghan people. The rule of this group, nearly two years in the making, has yet to gain national and international legitimacy. Afghans perceive life under the shadow of the Taliban as worse than migrating to third-world countries and facing homelessness. By bringing together terrorist groups and altering the curriculum in Afghan schools to favor religious teachings over modern education, the Taliban has sparked significant concerns in Afghanistan. People believe that living under Taliban rule would lead to their children becoming new members of global terrorist groups. The educational doctrines established by the Taliban, through a complete shift from modern to religious education in Afghanistan, are perceived as nothing but extremism, violence, terror, and massacre. Afghan families do not want their children to receive education under the curriculum of a terrorist group. Therefore, this factor also compels people to leave Afghanistan, which the Taliban has turned into a black hole for its citizens, contributing to the flood of migrations.
Conclusion:
The return of the Taliban to power has given rise to a multifaceted migration crisis driven by political, economic, and social factors. The political landscape, characterized by widespread fear and uncertainty, especially among those affiliated with the previous government, international organizations, or human rights defenders, is black. The Taliban’s distorted interpretation of Islamic laws has added to the fear of persecution and harassment in Afghanistan, creating an atmosphere of terror and dread marked by killings, arrests, and suppression of freedoms.
By imposing restrictions on various segments of society, the Taliban have become the catalyst for the migration of millions of citizens. Through instilling fear and terror over the past 20 years, the group has sufficiently distanced people from themselves. Therefore, it will take a considerable amount of time for this group to gain national legitimacy in Afghanistan, and, with its current policies, it will never achieve domestic legitimacy. The people of Afghanistan were the primary victims of the Taliban’s war in Afghanistan, and there is hardly a family that has not suffered from this group. Hence, the establishment of this group in Afghanistan has not only robbed people of their mental and spiritual security but has also brought about economic problems, political turmoil, and numerous other challenges. In the current situation in Afghanistan, these issues provide convincing reasons for the migration of Afghans to neighboring and immigrant-receiving countries, as people consider homelessness better than living under the rule of the Taliban.
The world’s approach to the terrorist and oppressive regime of the Taliban, based on engagement and demonstrating cooperation, has further emboldened them in suppressing, detaining, and torturing Afghans. Afghans who have nothing are forced to migrate to neighboring countries, where, unfortunately, they still face hundreds of problems.
The wave of migrations from Afghanistan will decrease when the world adopts a different approach to the Taliban regime and accepts the reality that the Taliban are the same as they were 20 years ago, with no change. Supporting the idea of overthrowing the rule of this group in Afghanistan and establishing a legitimate national government, created from the core of the Afghan people, can solve these problems. This not only reduces migration problems but also uproots hundreds of other problems stemming from the Taliban in Afghanistan and the world. The most fundamental of these is the danger of the spread of terrorism.
With the continuation of the current situation, the Afghan migration crisis will become more extensive and complex, and other risks, such as the spread of terrorism and extremist groups nurtured under the shadow of Taliban rule, will not spare the countries of the region and the world.