Approaching the second anniversary of the Taliban Emirate, the month of August this year holds utmost importance for many in our country. Some argue that the international community has granted this group a two-year opportunity to fulfill its obligations, and it is likely that the Taliban have prepared for important interactions with foreigners in the coming months. These individuals suggest that the Taliban will exploit the numerous restrictions imposed on people’s freedoms during these two years, using them as bargaining chips for concessions from the world in exchange for lifting some restrictions against Afghans. Recently, there have been allegations of the impending opening of girls’ schools. Furthermore, U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent statement has inadvertently provided fodder for Taliban propaganda and has generated doubts about the possibility of behind-the-scenes agreements between the United States and the Taliban regarding the gradual stabilization of their administration. It is inconceivable for the Taliban Emirate to continue without reopening schools and restoring minimum political and civil liberties. Consequently, there are those who eagerly await the moment when the “Emirate” will take a few steps back from its rigid position in order to gain legitimacy, allowing its foreign allies to justify their support and cooperation and present reports of “progress” to the public. However, beneath all these speculations lies a mistaken belief in the possibility of change within the Taliban. Those who expect non-Taliban actions from the Taliban have been deceived by extensive propaganda disseminated by domestic and foreign politicians during more than a decade of confidential and open negotiations with the Taliban. The majority of Afghans have yet to realize that the Taliban remain steadfast in their mission to regress society, erase signs of development, and combat diversity.
Over the past two years, the Taliban leadership has endeavored to instill their beliefs in the minds of the people, influencing their worldview through orders, speeches, announcements, flogging, imprisonment, and torture. Three decades of politics and warfare have taught them pragmatism to some extent, enabling them to pursue their goals incrementally and exploit the divisions and weaknesses of the people. They have strategically aligned themselves with certain segments of society by proposing divisive slogans.
The Taliban’s treatment of women exemplifies the pragmatic, gradual, and tactical behavior of the group. Recognizing that women are the marginalized portion of society, the Taliban understand that in Afghanistan’s patriarchal environment, the deprivation of women does not elicit significant sensitivity. This is due to the fact that social and family relationships in the country are largely governed by misogynistic norms. Moreover, the Taliban’s suppression of women not only aligns them with regressive and powerful men who share traditional commonalities, but also provides them with a potent propaganda tool on international platforms to provoke reactions and outrage in modern societies. It allows them to garner support and cooperation from conservatives and fundamentalists in the region. While the relative leniency shown towards minorities and certain groups and strata that the Taliban deem “alien” or enemies might suggest a change in the Taliban’s stance, it is, in fact, an indication of the group’s pragmatism in prioritizing their actions. In practice, the Taliban’s policy of elimination against the entire society remains unchanged, sparing no non-Taliban group from the calamity of their orders and hostile actions. Many more eliminationist orders are expected, should the Taliban regime persist, leading to a surge in criminality.
The plight of women in Afghanistan can serve as a microcosm of the entire society. The overt and aggressive imposition of Taliban rules on women’s lives provides insights into their future plans for the entire society. Unlike their first era, the Taliban now realize that establishing an emirate all at once is not feasible; the society is too vast to be completely subjugated in one stroke. Therefore, they have chosen to disintegrate and devour society gradually, like any other invader. Despite women being the most vulnerable segment of society, they were not so weak and voiceless that a mere decree could strip them of their right to education, work, travel, recreation, happiness, and freedom. This had to be done gradually.
In the initial weeks of the Taliban’s rule, the society was given the opportunity to acclimate themselves to the conditions of the Emirate by observing the faces of the Taliban and engaging in conversations with their officials and agents before the decrees were issued. The Taliban’s first move to exclude women was by introducing an all-male cabinet. On September 8, 2021, Ahmadullah Wasiq, the Taliban Deputy Minister of Information and Culture, declared that sports were “inappropriate and unnecessary” for women. Four days later, the Taliban Ministry of Higher Education announced the implementation of gender segregation in all universities. While girls’ classes were not discontinued, separate days were designated for girls and boys.
Five days later, the Ministry of Women was dissolved and replaced with a department focused on enforcing religious doctrine and restricting women’s freedoms (promotion of virtue and prevention of vice). On the same day, September 17, middle school and high school girls were prohibited from attending school. The gradual marginalization of women continued. They decreed that only female employees of Kabul municipality who performed tasks unsuitable for men could continue working. Women were prohibited from appearing in television dramas, and female reporters were instructed not to present the news. Subsequently, the Taliban imposed a 72-kilometer travel restriction on women, banned the provision of driving lessons to women, and mandated face coverings in public. Language learning centers for women were closed, and girls were forbidden from attending religious classes and mosques. The fields of study available to girls were limited, and specific days were allocated for males and females to visit parks. Women’s bathhouses and gymnasiums were shut down, gradually eroding women’s access to higher education and opportunities to work in non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The invasion remains incomplete, and a recently circulated letter states that women’s beauty salons must be closed within a month. While women continue to work in certain offices, including the women’s health department, and are seen in markets, the closure of hairdressing salons deprives thousands of female breadwinners of employment. Some question the authenticity of this order, as hair salons are spaces exclusive to women and devoid of male presence. Prior to this, the Taliban had already closed women’s bathhouses, women’s bakeries, and women’s gymnasiums. The extent of the Taliban’s forthcoming decrees against women remains ambiguous.
The Taliban group is an anti-progressive and regressive force with a reactionary view of the world and society. They remain resolute in their opposition to freedom, progress, improvement, and diversity, sparing no manipulation in their politics. Any expectation of the Taliban building a healthy, responsible, and effective administration is an act of self-deception.
