Afghan women forced out of bank posts as Taliban take control

The armed men escorted them to their homes and told them not to return to their jobs. Instead, they explained that male relatives could take their place, according to three of the women involved and the bank manager.

“It’s really strange not to be allowed to go to work, but now it is,” Noor Khatera, a 43-year-old woman who had worked in the accounting department of the Bank.

“I learned English on my own and even learned to use a computer, but now I’m going to have to look for a place where I can just work with more women. “

The incident is a warning sign that some of the rights acquired by Afghan women in the 20 years since the overthrow of the outright militant Islamist movement may be overturned.

The Taliban have invaded the country regularly since US troops began withdrawing in May and insurgents entered the capital on Sunday. Read more

When they last ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, women could not work, girls were not allowed to go to school, and women had to cover their faces and be accompanied by a male relative if they wanted to venture out of their home.

Women who broke the rules have at times been humiliated and beaten in public by the Taliban religious police under the group’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.

During hitherto unsuccessful talks on a political settlement in recent years, Taliban leaders assured the West that women would enjoy equal rights in accordance with what was granted by Islam, including the ability to work and to be educated.

“THE WORLD SHOULD HELP US”

Two days after the episode at Bank Azizi, a similar scene unfolded at a branch of another Afghan lender, Bank Milli, in the western town of Herat, according to two cashiers who witnessed it.

Three Taliban fighters armed with weapons entered the branch, berating the employees for showing their faces in public. Women have resigned there, sending male relatives in their place.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid did not respond to a request for comment on the two incidents. Spokesmen for the two banks did not respond to requests for comment.

On the broader question of whether women would be allowed to work in banks in areas she controls, Mujahid added that no decision has yet been made.

“After the establishment of the Islamic system, it will be decided according to the law, and God willing, there will be no problems,” he said.

The United States and other Western powers fear the Taliban will undermine many of the freedoms women have won.

Advances in the area of ​​women’s rights have been touted as one of the greatest achievements in the 20-year deployment of US-led forces in Afghanistan, although they have been primarily made in the centers urban. Read more

Afghan women working in fields such as journalism, healthcare and law enforcement have been killed in a wave of attacks since the start of peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government last year supported by the United States.

The government attributes most of the targeted assassinations to the Taliban, who denies committing any assassinations.

“The Taliban will regress freedom at all levels and that is what we are fighting against,” said a spokesperson for the Afghan government.

“Women and children suffer the most and our forces are trying to save democracy. The world should understand us and help us.

Dozens of educated Afghan women have taken to social media for help and to express their frustration.

“With every city that collapses, human bodies collapse, dreams collapse, history and the future collapse, art and culture collapse, life and beauty collapse , our world is collapsing, ”Rada Akbar wrote on Twitter. “Someone please stop this.”