Taliban are currently ruling Afghanistan although none of the world countries officially announced to accept their government. When they came in power then the discussion was emerged that Taliban of today are totally different from past. This statement was based on the prolonged war of Taliban with the US forces since the incident of 9/11. It was being discussed that Taliban have come to know the reality of the world and now they are quite clear that they cannot survive in isolation and to go hand in hand with the world they will have to integrate themselves in the international nation state system.
When they came in power the above discussed statements were backed by the practical steps taken by Taliban. They were earlier notorious for neglecting the basic human rights and particularly the rights of women. But, after coming in power this time they surprised the world powers by announcing that they are not going to ban the education and work rights of women in Afghanistan. This was a shocking news for everyone and it confirmed that Taliban have been changed.
But, with the passage of time Taliban slowly kept on taking the U turns from the leverages which they had given. Earlier they snatched the right to work from the women. They banned women from going to work. After that, Taliban banned the female education at school level and then in a recent move they have banned the females from getting education in the Universities. Afghanistan’s Taliban-run higher education ministry on Tuesday suspended access to universities by female students until further notice, drawing strong condemnation from the United States, Britain and the United Nations. A letter, confirmed by a spokesperson for the higher education ministry, instructed Afghan public and private universities to suspend access to female students immediately, in accordance with a Cabinet decision.
The recent ban on education of women by Taliban came at a very important moment. The case of Taliban government’s recognition by world powers is under discussion. The announcement by the Taliban administration, which has not been internationally recognised, came as the United Nations Security Council met in New York on Afghanistan. Foreign governments, including the United States, have said that a change in policies on women’s education is needed before it can consider formally recognizing the Taliban-run administration, which is also subject to heavy sanctions.
Afghanistan is currently facing the worst economic situation. The isolation of Taliban government in world arena has increased the troubles for the government and people of Afghanistan. As long as they will remain isolated they will not be able to survive as no country would officially enter in any agreement with them. The need of the hour was that Taliban would have followed the international norms and values to show the world that they are moderate enough now that they can be integrated in international arena. But, they went totally antithesis. They kept on rejecting the basic rights in the country which sent very negative message abroad. Now, when the discussion regarding integration of Taliban is underway at the forum of the United Nations (UN), Taliban have banned the females in Universities which has sent a very negative message on table of discussion at the UN. The world powers are raising the questions that how they can integrate a country which has rejected all the basic human rights.
The mantra of changed Taliban has been proven totally wrong. They are the same old Taliban indeed. So, the stability in Afghanistan would not be possible as long as Taliban will remain in power. If Taliban really wants to rule the country then they will have to revisit their policies immediately.
Published in Daily Country News, December 22nd, 2022.