Afghans Mark 5 Years Under Taliban     08/14 06:38

   

   KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- As Afghanistan's Taliban rulers mark five years 
since sweeping back to power, some Kabul residents say they feel safer after 
decades of conflict and upheaval but stress the leaders should now focus on 
creating jobs and expanding access to schools in the country where girls above 
the age of 12 are banned from education.

   The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021, after it 
launched an offensive as the U.S. and other NATO troops withdrew from the 
country after two decades of war. The withdrawal led to chaotic scenes at and 
around Kabul's airport with thousands wanting to leave.

   "Thank God, the past five years have passed in safety," said Mohammad Qasim, 
30, reflecting on the anniversary that comes against a backdrop of economic 
hardship in a conflict-stricken country. "Our wish and hope from the government 
is to create job opportunities for the youth."

   "We, along with the entire nation, call upon the government to create 
employment opportunities for the youth and to encourage them to pursue 
education," he added.

   Taliban curbs women's rights despite pledge

   Before the takeover, the Taliban stated that, upon assuming power, it would 
allow women access to education, employment and public participation, albeit in 
accordance with its interpretation of Islamic principles.

   Soon after it seized power, the Taliban imposed an indefinite ban on girls' 
education beyond the sixth grade and, a few months later, also banned higher 
education for women until "further notice."

   Women also were banned from entering gyms, parks and public baths, from 
taking part in sports and traveling to distant locations without a "mahram," or 
male guardian.

   Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has repeatedly said the 
administration is working to establish conditions under which girls and women 
can attend classrooms or university campuses in line with Islamic Sharia laws. 
The restrictions, nevertheless, remain in force.

   While the U.N. has acknowledged that the country has become more stable 
since the takeover, it has warned that lasting stability cannot be possible 
unless the Taliban rulers -- who remain isolated internationally -- lift 
restrictions on women and girls, protect basic rights and address terrorism 
concerns.

   "A reduction in conflict has brought tangible benefits for many Afghans and 
created opportunities to focus on recovery, development and regional economic 
cooperation," the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, 
said in a statement ahead of the anniversary. It added, however, that the 
restrictions on women and girls impede Afghanistan's recovery and its 
reintegration with the international community.

   UN says Afghanistan in world's most severe women's rights crisis

   In a statement this week, the U.N.'s agency on women's rights, said Afghan 
women and girls are living under the world's most severe restrictions, which 
not only violate their rights but also threaten the country's social and 
economic future.

   "Half a decade after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan has 
systematically dismantled the rights of half its population, making it a global 
outlier with no parallel in the modern world," U.N. Women said.

   "In the past year alone, this exclusion of women and girls from education, 
employment, public life, justice systems and healthcare has only intensified, 
entrenching what remains the world's most severe women's rights crisis," it 
said.

   Fazila Soroush, a 39-year-old Kabul-based entrepreneur and an advocate for 
women's rights, said the government had "demonstrated its worth to the people 
through its actions in every area."

   "We consider it essential that the officials of the Islamic Emirate who had 
announced the closure of schools and universities until further notice, now 
make a clear and practical decision regarding this matter," she said.

   In the streets of Kabul, preparations for the anniversary celebrations were 
underway. Vendors sold the Taliban's white with black scripted flags while 
painters were busy writing slogans in praise of Islamic laws on walls, 
including: "The Islamic system has been achieved at the cost of the martyrs' 
blood" and "Our commitment stands firm: Consolidation and implementation of 
Islamic Sharia."

   Taliban says it brought security and stability

   Molvi Hayatullah Mahajar Farahi, deputy minister in the Taliban government 
for broadcasting at the Ministry of Information and culture, said in the five 
years the administration has delivered security, stabilized the currency, 
improved infrastructure and formed industrial parks that have created jobs.

   "Naturally, challenges and difficulties exist, yet we can highlight several 
accomplishments," Farahi told The Associated Press.

   Farahi, when asked, did not address the issue of the education of girls and 
women but said "the level of investment made in universities surpasses anything 
seen in the past.

   "The Emirate continues its efforts to further organize and improve services 
for our citizens in the fields of education and other sectors," he stated.

   The deputy minister rejected a U.N. report that documented terrorist 
networks in Afghanistan, saying "these are merely enemy propaganda, spread to 
portray the country as unstable."

   Asked to comment about its international isolation, Farahi insisted the 
Taliban government was engaged with some 40 countries. The Taliban government 
currently is only formally recognized by Russia.

   "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has fulfilled all the requirements 
necessary for official recognition. It is now up to the international community 
and others to step forward and take the appropriate action," he said.

   UN points at broader educational crisis

   The bans have left an estimated 2.4 million girls excluded from secondary 
education, UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 
said this week -- a 200,000 increase from last year. The restrictions have 
reversed two decades of progress that Afghanistan had made in education, the 
agency said.

   Pointing at a broader educational crisis, the agency said 53% of primary 
school-aged children are out of school. Schools lack basic infrastructure such 
as water, sanitation or heating, while natural disasters have also led to 
hundreds of school closures.

   Meanwhile, the U.N. World Food Program said child malnutrition has reached 
critical levels in a third of Afghanistan's provinces and is expected to worsen 
as funding shortfalls force cuts in food distributions and other support.

   In Kabul, Dost Mohammad Khan expressed support for the Taliban 
administration, saying the past five years have brought stability. He said 
however, that the country needs trained professionals such as doctors and 
engineers, urging the authorities to keep "all sectors operational."

   "We also call upon the Islamic Emirate to permit women to attend school 
under the sharia dress code and we urge the public to heed the directives of 
the Emirate also," said the 38-year-old.