The situation in Afghanistan is getting worse every day. The health system is paralyzed and, the economy is collapsing. Citizens are not safe, and in addition to being the victim of explosions and terrorist attacks, people are being targeted by Taliban members in various parts of the country. Hundreds of reports of targeted assassinations of members of the army since August 15. Many people have also been beaten and persecuted by the Taliban during this period. Fear now reigns in society. Hungry civilians endure mass killings, violence, and flogging of unidentified gunmen and Taliban members.
In such circumstances, women and youth have raised their voices. From the very first days of the fall of Kabul, they started protesting against oppression, violence, censorship, and looting and, this protest continues to this day. In a situation where the governing group ignores the civilians’ lives, the demonstration is the only thing that women and youth can do.
These voices address the ruling regime and the international community. The ruling regime, as it controls the country and has national resources, is the main audience of these protests. National resources are not the personal property of an individual, regime, or movement. These resources belong to the people of Afghanistan. No group or structure has the right to monopolize the national resources by dominating the country and making the people hungrier. Therefore, the people have the right to protest. They have the right to stand against the monopoly of power and resources by the ruling regime.
At the international level, the world must hear the voice of the Afghan people. Afghan citizens face mental and physical pains and torture. They suffer day and night, but no one sees this suffering. The fight against destructive poverty and poor economic conditions will work with the help of the world. Likewise, the human rights of the people will be respected under the pressure of the international community. The possibility that the ruling regime will pay attention to individual and political freedoms and the poor living conditions of the people is limited.
All in all, since August 15, people have been witnessing the loss of their salaries and the emptying of their tables every day. The Taliban, as the ruling group, have no plans to rid the people of this situation and have not heard their voices. The world has not acted as it should. The global effort to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is limited to sending limited aid and general advice to the Taliban. However, the scope of the humanitarian crisis and the problems of the Afghan people is wide. It can only be managed by the collective action of the world and the Taliban.
Protesters should not be beaten with whips and gunstocks. The Taliban cannot stifle the voice of the people by suppressing the protests. Moreover, they cannot control the situation for a long time by using force and violence. It is impossible to live with a hungry stomach under a whip. If the voices of the hungry and oppressed people are not heard, the spread of protests soon is a serious possibility. Collective dissatisfaction may even reach uncontrollable and irreversible stages. Therefore, it is in the interest of the Taliban to hear the voice of the people.