According to the top Taliban spokesman, the Taliban see their reign over Afghanistan as unending, justifying it with Islamic law and not being seriously threatened. On August 15, 2023, Taliban soldiers in Kabul, Afghanistan, celebrate the second anniversary of Kabul’s fall on a street close to the American embassy.
In an interview to commemorate the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the nation, the Taliban’s main spokesman stated that they see their rule of Afghanistan as unending, receiving legitimacy from Islamic law, and not being seriously threatened. He also said that women will still not be allowed to attend school.
Zabihullah Mujahid dismissed any inquiries from the AP on limitations on women and girls, stating that the current situation will continue. The first in a wave of limitations that currently prevent Afghan women from entering classrooms, working in most professions, and participating in much of public life was the ban on females continuing their education past the sixth grade.
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban took over the country as U.S. and NATO forces left it after 20 years of conflict. Tuesday has been designated a holiday in observance of the anniversary. Women were primarily excluded from public life and did not attend the celebration.
Military men posed with armored vehicles in the southern city of Kandahar, which is where the Taliban originated spiritually. Waving flags and flashing guns, young men rode through the city on bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles. Small white Taliban flags with a picture of Defense Minister Maulvi Mohammad Yaqoob in the lower right corner were held in the hands of toddlers.
Pick-up trucks packed with men and boys weaved their way through the Afghan capital city of Kabul. Males were everywhere in Martyrs Square, taking pictures and climbing up monuments. Boys held firearms in a posture.
Over the past two years, it has been increasingly clear that the Taliban-led government in Kabul is not the center of power, but rather Hibatullah Akhundzada’s hometown of Kandahar.
Late on Monday, Mujahid was interviewed in a Kandahar TV studio located on a dilapidated former military base. The local government offices and the U.N. Mission in Afghanistan are close by.
The Taliban spokesperson arrived in a white SUV with a driver, guard, and guard. He used Taliban talking points on topics like women’s rights and international recognition while being composed and polite.
He maintained that Taliban rule, which he asserted derives its legitimacy from Islamic law, or Sharia, has no defined duration. “It will remain in place for as long as it is able to and as long as the emir (the supreme leader) is not ousted for acting contrary to Sharia.”
After two years, Mujahid declared there are no threats to the Taliban’s rule from either inside or outside the nation. He asserted that Afghans long for unanimity and consensus and that the current government is acting appropriately. Everyone doesn’t need to rebel, Mujahid stated.
The Taliban government listed what it saw as its successes in a statement on Tuesday, including reestablishing a sense of personal safety and national pride.
The statement said nothing about the tens of thousands of Afghans who left after the takeover, the severe economic crisis, or the growing destitution when foreign help stopped coming. At the same time, the Taliban seem to have established themselves, preventing internal strife and even maintaining the stability of their faltering economy, in part by undertaking investment negotiations with capital-rich neighboring nations.
Mujahid was hesitant to talk about the restrictions on women and girls, dismissing inquiries about the subject as redundant and claiming there was no use in discussing it unless there were developments. The modification he did recommend was unlikely.
The Taliban typically avoid stating that they are opposed to female education on principle in conversations with foreign diplomats and aid officials, instead arguing that they need more time and funding to permit gender segregation in classrooms and on university campuses in accordance with their interpretation of Sharia.
In the interview, Mujahid made the claim that “everything will be under the influence of Sharia.”
He said that the Taliban don’t require outside assistance when asked why they aren’t enlisting Muslim-majority nations with Sharia-based systems to restart female education.
The classroom ban was abruptly implemented in March 2022, just as Kabul-based government ministries announced they were getting ready to allow girls up to the seventh grade to return to school. Akhundzada, the supreme leader, is thought to be the driving force behind the restriction.
The return of girls and women to the classroom is less important, according to Mujahid, who claimed that Islamic academics vary on the topic of female education.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized that the path to improving relations between the Taliban and other nations will be obstructed “unless and until” the rights of women and girls were upheld.
The Taliban leadership doesn’t have an urgent concern about the possibility of being isolated internationally or losing recognition as Afghanistan’s legitimate government due to restrictions on women and girls, according to Mujahid.
Our interaction with China, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan and other countries in the region is official,” he declared. “We have consulates, travel, and embassies. We run companies. Traders move things as they come and go. These are all things that indicate officialdom’s acknowledgement.
This week, statements from aid organizations, human rights organizations, and the U.N. denounced the Taliban’s authority and warned of the humanitarian disaster afflicting the Afghan people.
According to World Vision, there are now almost 5 million more individuals in need of help than there were previously. 15 million people, the fourth-highest number in the world, will experience “crisis” levels of food insecurity this year, with 2.8 million of those falling into the “emergency” category.
A coalition of human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, argued that the Taliban should face pressure to stop their abuses and repression as well as be looked into for alleged violations of international law, such as gender discrimination against women and girls.
The World Health Organization voiced its worry about Afghans’ lack of access to fundamental healthcare services in Geneva. According to spokeswoman Dr. Margaret Harris, 4 million people suffer from drug addiction and related disorders, and 20% of the population experiences mental health issues.
Dr. Harris stated that “most health facilities have subpar infrastructure, and there are fewer qualified health care workers as a result of immigration, restrictions on women’s employment and movement, and decreased funds to pay salaries and maintain facilities.”
