The Taliban and Afghanistan, what now?
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What will Afghanistan look like under the Taliban? What will everyday life be like for women, what about human rights? There are many questions after the Taliban’s sudden takeover of power in Afghanistan. What seems certain is that the US and NATO’s withdrawal was poorly thought out and went too quickly. The entire 20-year war from the US and NATO seems to be almost completely in vain.
Women and the Taliban
What worries me the most is women’s rights in Afghanistan. Are the Taliban returning to the practice of the Koran they had before the West forced them out of Afghanistan 20 years ago? For me, the view of women that was practiced at the time alone is worth fighting against. Girls were not allowed to go to school, women could not go out without being escorted by a man, the forced marriage and stoning of women who were allegedly unfaithful.
Western countries’ invasion of Afghanistan was primarily to remove the Taliban, who in practice ruled the country until 2001. After the terror attack on the United States, everything pointed to Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, the Sunni Muslim organization he led. Afghanistan had become a haven for Sunni Muslim terrorist groups. To prevent such groups from taking over power in the country again, a couple of things were important. This was to strengthen the state to become a functioning state, improve women’s rights, end censorship and strengthen Afghanistan’s own defence. After 20 years of military presence from Western countries, we can hardly say that the strategy has been a great success.
A prolonged conflict
In 1978, the communists commit a coup d’état in Afghanistan. Reforms were initiated that did not go down well with the fundamentalist Muslim forces in Pakistan. The conflict with these Muslim groups developed into a civil war. In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to secure communist rule in the country. This was in the days of the Cold War and the conflict in Afghanistan developed into a global conflict. The Muslim groups received support from the United States and several other countries. Money, weapons and training in the use of weapons were provided by the United States in the attempt to defeat communism. The result was that the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 after 10 years of war and heavy losses.
In the time that followed, Muslim groups faced each other in an internal civil war that lasted until the Taliban took over power in 1996. The Taliban allowed the terrorist group Al-Qaeda to establish its headquarters in Afghanistan. Now they directed their Aggression away from the Soviet Union, which had dissolved, towards the United States and Western values. Several terrorist acts against Western targets took place, until 11 September 2001 when the USA was hit by an extreme terror.
The paradox is that the US actually supplied the Taliban with weapons and supported them in their conflict against communism. Perhaps things would look different without an extreme determination to fight communism at all costs.
Who will support a Taliban ruled Afghanistan?
The big question going forward will be whether Afghanistan will become a completely isolated country or whether Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan will recognize the government as they did the last time the Taliban had control of Afghanistan. An international blockade of the country could be a solution to put pressure on a regime that is not known for a humanitarian approach to human rights.
As I said, it’s the women I’m most worried about. Women who have been educated for 20 years have gained rights that women otherwise take for granted. Some basic human rights are worth fighting for. Women’s right to decide on their own lives is one such right.
Sources:
Dagbladet: Don’t let Afghanistan down again
Nikei: Taliban’s rise pressures Iran and Saudi Arabia to bury the hatchet