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British Chief of Staff Nick Carter says he thinks the Taliban has changed and the West needs to give them space.
“I think they’ve changed,” Carter said in an interview with Sky News Wednesday morning. “I think they recognize that over the last 20 years Afghanistan has evolved, they recognize the fundamental role that women have played in that evolution and yes, for now, they will undoubtedly say that they want to respect women’s rights under Islamic law. “
“It doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t allow them to get involved in government, education and medicine and the things that they need them to be involved in,” he added.
Since reclaiming Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban have repeatedly said that women’s earnings over the past two decades will be protected as they take over. Despite the group’s promises, it is clear that many Afghan women fear being once again treated as “lower classes” and forced to live under the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Previously, under the Taliban, women were required to wear blankets from head to toe, were not allowed to study or work, and were not allowed to travel alone. Television, music and non-Islamic holidays have also been banned.
CNN crews in Kabul have observed a significant drop in the number of women on the streets since the Taliban took power, compared to a few days ago. Those who venture outside dress more conservatively, some with their faces covered in niqabs or veils. Burqas had become less common in Kabul over the past two decades, but news that the Taliban are once again in charge has sparked an increase in sales, traders told CNN.
In the interview, General Carter then called the Taliban a group of “country boys” bound by a “code of honor”.
“I think we have to be patient, we have to give them the space to show how they are going to get on the plate,” he said. “Whether or not we can work with them will depend a lot on how they treat all Afghans. “
“All I’m saying is see how it plays out because we might just be surprised,” he also said. “Yes we should do it very carefully, yes we should be fundamentally suspicious because we know where they are coming from. “
His remarks were echoed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was debating the situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday in the British House of Commons. Johnson told Parliament: “We have to face the reality of regime change in Afghanistan.”
Johnson said it would be a mistake “to recognize any new regime in Kabul prematurely or bilaterally” before adding: “we will judge this regime on the basis of the choices it makes and its actions rather than its words.”
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