This is how Kabul lives before the advance of the Taliban 1:59
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: Former attorney Dean Obeidallah is the host of the daily SiriusXM radio show "The Dean Obeidallah Show" and a columnist for The Daily Beast.
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(CNN) -
With the President of Afghanistan fleeing on Sunday morning, the Taliban are effectively in control of Afghanistan. While people can (and are) trying to get political gain on who is to blame for the fall of Afghanistan, it is clear from President Joe Biden's statement on Saturday that after 20 years of US troops fighting in Afghanistan , he would not "pass this war on to a fifth" president.
This means that for all those concerned with protecting the more than 19 million women in Afghanistan from the Taliban's brutal treatment of women, there is no longer a US military option to do so.
The best approach right now is to enlist our Muslim allies like Pakistan, Jordan and others to pressure the Taliban "Muslim to Muslim" to stop oppressing women.
Not only is it morally wrong, it is an insult to Islam.
What the Taliban subjected women to when they ruled the nation from 1996 to 2001 may be worse than many remember.
This is how Kabul stands before the Taliban advance in Afghanistan 3:05
Amnesty International said bluntly that women were brutally oppressed simply for "the 'crime' of being born a girl."
Under the Taliban regime, women were forbidden to go to school, work, leave the house without a male companion, and were essentially stripped of human self-determination simply because of their gender.
ANALYSIS |
What will an Afghanistan be like under the Taliban?
His rise to power in the 1990s paints a grim picture
The penalties for breaking Taliban rules were barbaric, such as the flogging of women for "showing an inch or two of skin under their full-body burqa, beatings for trying to study, stoning to death if convicted of adultery". In short, as Amnesty International noted, "women were essentially invisible in public life, imprisoned at home".
After the Taliban were ousted from power by US-led international forces in 2001, women's lives vastly improved. In 2003, a new Constitution was adopted that enshrined the rights of women, schools for women were reopened, they were able to work freely, and by early 2021, 27% of the seats in the national parliament were held by women. However, much remains to be done, as much of the improvements for women occurred in cities, not rural areas, and domestic violence continues to reach epidemic levels.
Yet the Taliban's conquest of much of Afghanistan means not only the end of hopes for further progress, but a likely return to an era of brutal repression.
Admittedly, in May, a Taliban spokesman claimed that if they took control of Afghanistan, the militant group would enact rules "that allow women to contribute to the country in a peaceful and protected environment."
But in areas that have already fallen under Taliban control, women are reportedly already prisoners in their own homes, just like the last time the Taliban ruled.
OPINION |
Afghanistan's First Ambassador to the United States Says Current Situation "Avoidable"
Why would Muslim nations like Pakistan, Jordan, or even Saudi Arabia try to pressure the Taliban to respect women's human rights?
Well, this may be overly optimistic of me, but the hope is that their leaders are as disgusted as I am, as a Muslim, by the Taliban's inhumane treatment of women in the name of Islam.
The Taliban's actions towards women are not only anti-Islamic, they are an insult to our faith.
They are bringing shame and dishonor to our religion.
Who are the Taliban and how did they take control of Afghanistan so quickly?
For starters, Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, has had a long relationship with the Taliban.
Indeed, Pakistan has faced the ire of previous US administrations for its support of the Taliban.
What will happen now to women in Afghanistan?
2:35
But let's look at the history of Pakistan when it comes to women: although it is not perfect, the women of this Muslim nation of 240 million people are directors of large companies, more than 60% of the country's doctors are women and even a A woman has been prime minister, since Benazir Bhutto was democratically elected to that position twice in (terms) 1988-90 and in 1993-96.
Why would the leaders and people of Pakistan want to allow this horrible treatment of women in the name of Islam across the border?
Although Jordan has no ties to the Taliban like Pakistan, its leader, King Abdullah, is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and, under his rule, women are a solid part of society.
I have been to Jordan countless times and have seen first-hand how women serve as business leaders, in Parliament and as officers in the Jordanian military.
The hope is that the king, as a leader in the Muslim world, can use his influence to entice other Muslim heads of state to join forces with aid and sanctions to pressure the Taliban.
What is happening in Jordan with members of the royal family?
This is what we know
In addition, there is Saudi Arabia, which was only one of three countries that recognized the Taliban rule in the 1990s. Although the Saudi government officially supported the government of Afghanistan installed after the removal of the Taliban, the wealthy Saudis continued funding the Taliban during the 2010s, allowing the Saudis to be on both sides.
Although Saudi Arabia has had a horrible record when it comes to women's rights, in recent years they have even evolved for the better.
Women attend university in large numbers, both in Saudi Arabia and the West, funded by the government, and now have greater career opportunities.
Since 2015, women have been running for local office, and some even win.
Although Saudi Arabia has a long way to go on gender equality, it is far better than the brutally repressive Taliban regime, in which women are, in essence, incarcerated at home, unable to even dream of a life. best.
Afghanistan, minute by minute: "I firmly stand by my decision," says Biden
It is true that within Islam there are various interpretations of the Qur'an, just as people can interpret the Bible. But Islamic clerics make it clear: "The Qur'an regards men and women as equal in the eyes of God." In fact, despite the Taliban's ban on women from going to school, the Qur'an "instructs Muslims to educate daughters as well as sons." Even Saudi Arabia opened its universities to women in the mid-1970s. That, of course, does not mean that there is still no work to be done for gender equality within Muslim countries (as there is in the United States), but the "interpretation" of the faith by the Taliban goes beyond the extreme; It is a "perversion", as the experts have pointed out,and to claim that it is justified by the principles of faith is absolutely wrong. That is why no other Muslim-majority nations impose the same harsh restrictions on women as the Taliban.
What is President Biden's interest in Afghanistan?
1:11
Of course, the West must also play a role by using economic aid and the threat of sanctions to pressure the Taliban.
But without military options, the best hope may be that our Muslim allies will pressure the Taliban to stop treating women in brutal and un-Islamic ways.
Islamwomen in AfghanistanTaliban