Afghanistan's ruling Taliban jihadist group on Monday praised “achievement” in women's rights, claiming it had stopped child marriage and punished domestic abusers.
The Taliban are a repressive jihadist terrorist organization that left the country in 2021 following outgoing President Joe Biden's decision to violate an agreement brokered by President-elect Donald Trump that promised an orderly withdrawal of American troops. took control of the real power.
During their three years in power, the Taliban have enacted extensive policies that oppress Afghan women, including requiring them to cover their faces, stay at home as much as possible, and not speak loud enough for other women to hear. It has been implemented.
Not surprisingly, women are effectively prohibited from working or having their own lives, and women and older girls are also prohibited from receiving education.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan in a similar manner for much of the 1990s. Despite their clear history as a human rights criminal organization, Taliban terrorists claimed in August 2021 that they would respect women's rights upon returning to power. Top spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters in Afghanistan's first press conference since the fall of the legitimate government that the Taliban “respects women's rights within the framework.” sharia”, Islamic law continues, telling women to “stay at home at this time.”
President Mujahid on Monday published a list of alleged “achievements” on women's rights to commemorate the United Nations-recognized International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. effort. He acknowledged the purported successes of the Taliban's social repression organ, the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue, Prevention of Vice and Hearing of Complaints.
The list of “successes” included attempts to prevent child marriage and punish domestic violence.
“In the last three years…about 20,000 women have been granted inheritance, mahr (dowry) and other basic rights, which were previously based on harmful customs, traditions and unfounded notions of honor and enthusiasm. It was taken away by the concept in society,” Mujahid claimed. “In the last six months alone, 1,000 similar cases have been registered and resolved.”
Mujahid also claimed that the Taliban had “stopped 5,000 marriages in which women were forced into marriage or underage girls were married to old men in exchange for money or against their will.” did.
Evidence emerged last year that cast doubt on the Taliban's claims that they are trying to stop child marriage. In October, the BBC published an exposé in which the Taliban, contrary to its claims, reversed marriage annulments carried out under the previous government, effectively defrauding former child brides by forcing them into marriages as children. It was revealed that he was forced to return to marriage with the men.
Faced with questions about a particular marriage exposed by the BBC, a Taliban terrorist claimed that the annulment in question was “against Islamic law” and said: “Our Islamic legal principles state that the work of the judiciary requires no human being. “Women do not have the qualifications or ability to make such judgments,” she asserted. have high intelligence. ”
President Mujahid claimed the Taliban were against domestic violence and completed a list of alleged “achievements” on women's rights.
“Domestic violence against women, including disrespecting women, inflicting physical and psychological violence, depriving them of their Islamic rights, and disrespecting women based on harmful practices, is prevented. ', President Mujahid claimed, without providing any evidence of the alleged violence against women. An incident of abuse that was “prevented'' by terrorists.
In addition to the declaration, President Mujahid discussed the topic of the Taliban's rampant abuses against women with Afghan news outlet Toro News. The spokesperson acknowledged that the Taliban fell far short of international standards of respecting women's basic human rights, but nevertheless defended his terrorist organization.
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“We are doing our best overall, but it's not enough,” Mujahid said. claimed. “More efforts are needed to address challenges, especially in remote and rural areas where intervention is critical.”
On the same day that Mujahid claimed that his group respects women's rights, the Taliban's “Ministry of Information and Culture” announced Establishment of a new government office, “Directorate for the Preservation of Jihadist Values.'' According to the Taliban's Bakhtar news agency, the new directorate will be responsible for “audiovisual documentation, the establishment of a jihad museum, and the compilation of authentic historical records.”
As expressed in the Taliban's own policies, “jihadist values'' do not explicitly include respect for women's rights. Taliban terrorists have repeatedly argued that women's presence in public spaces is unfair. haramor banned, and more recently started arguing that women's voices should also not be heard in public spaces.
“It is very bad to see women's faces in some areas, and our scholars agree that women's faces should be covered,” said Molvi Mohammad Sadiq, spokesperson for the Ministry of Vice. Akif told The Associated Press in August 2023. A woman has her own value, and when a man looks at her, that value goes down. Allah respects women who wear hijab and this has value. ”
In October, Vice-Minister Mohammad Khalid Hanafi issued a decree banning women from praying at a volume that is “audible to other women.”
“At a rally in Logar province, Hanafi emphasized national unity,” Toro News reported at the time, adding that “women's loud voices at mixed-gender gatherings are considered inappropriate.”
