Unprecedented protest by women in Afghanistan as Taliban prepare for new government

The Taliban announced on Thursday that they were about to form a new government in Afghanistan, where dozens of women participated in an unusual protest for their right to work under the new regime, which faces enormous economic challenges.

The Islamist militants promise a more flexible management than that which they demonstrated under their previous government (1996-2001), brutally repressive and radical.

But there are great doubts in the country about what will happen now, as the group that until just 20 days ago was insurgent and will now directly exercise power.

El anuncio del gabinete -que según adelantaron a la agencia AFP dos fuentes talibanas podría producirse el viernes- tendrá lugar pocos días después de la caótica salida del país de las fuerzas de Estados Unidos, lo que puso end a la guerrada por más larga outside.

One of the most symbolic moments since the Taliban seized power in Kabul on August 15 has been the parades of its militants with Western military equipment captured during its withering campaign.

They even flew over Kandahar, the spiritual stronghold of the Taliban, aboard a Black Hawk helicopter.

Expectations and fear

Now all eyes are on the Taliban’s new cabinet, and whether it will be able to raise the bar a devastated economy and live up to its commitment to “inclusive” government.

What seems clear, according to a senior Taliban official, is that “there may not be” women at the head of ministries or in positions of responsibility.

During his period in power between 1996 and 2001, marked by the strict application of Islamic law, women have disappeared from Afghan public space.

The voice of women

This Thursday, in the city of Herat, the cosmopolitan capital of western Afghanistan, about fifty women demonstrated to claim their right to work and demand their participation in the new executive.

“It is our duty to have education, work and safety,” chanted the protesters in unison. “We are not afraid, we are united,” they added.

“There are talks to form a government, but (the Taliban) are not talking about women’s participation,” one of the protest organizers, Basira Taheri, told AFP.

“We want the Taliban to agree to talk to us,” he added.

This type of public demonstration or expression of discontent is something unprecedented for the Taliban, who ruthlessly suppressed all opposition during their reign.

Among the 122,000 Afghans and foreigners who fled Afghanistan in recent weeks thanks to evacuations organized by the West, was the first Afghan woman journalist to interview a Taliban leader live on television.

Beseshta Arghand, journalist for the private Afghan network Tolo News, had to flee to Qatar, fearing for her life, when the Islamists seized power.

“I want to say to the international community: please do something for Afghan women,” she told AFP on Wednesday.

A devastated economy

On the other hand, the new Afghan government will face an immense task: rebuilding an economy devastated by two decades of war and dependent on international aid, largely frozen after the Taliban took power.

In the streets of Kabul, this is the big concern. “With the arrival of the Taliban, we can say that there is security, but business is below zero,” Karim Jan, an electronics trader, told AFP.

The Taliban urgently need to find funds to pay civil servants’ salaries and keep vital infrastructure (water, electricity, communications) functioning.

One of its priorities will be the operation of the Kabul airport, essential for the medical and humanitarian support the country needs to arrive.

On Thursday, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohamed bin Abdelrahman al-Thani said his government is negotiate with the Taliban to reopen Kabul airport “as soon as possible”, although “no agreement” has yet been reached on the matter.

On Wednesday, a Qatari plane with a technical team landed at this airport. As a well-informed source told AFP, Qatar sent the team to discuss the “resumption of operations at the airport”, while the Taliban requested “technical assistance”.

Source: AFP

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