The Shadow Of The Taliban: Afghanistan's Uncertain Future

The Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 after being overthrown by US troops in 2001. The group swept to victory in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdrew from the country following a deal between the US and the Taliban. The Taliban's rule has raised concerns about the future of women's rights and political freedoms in the country. The Taliban have imposed restrictions on civil society, segregating women and girls from public life, and limiting their access to education and work. The group has also been accused of human rights violations, including intimidation of journalists, restriction of press freedoms, and violent crackdowns on demonstrations. The international community has not recognized the Taliban's government and has imposed sanctions, which have contributed to the collapse of Afghanistan's economy and a humanitarian crisis in the country.

The Taliban's relationship with Pakistan

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) has long supported the Taliban, even helping to create the group in the 1990s during the war against the Soviets. The ISI has provided the Taliban with military support, financial resources, training, weapons, logistical support, and safe havens in Pakistani territory. Pakistan's army and intelligence services have contributed to making the Taliban a highly effective military force, with Pakistani agencies helping to plan and execute major military operations.

The Taliban's founder, Mullah Omar, was trained by the ISI during the war against the Soviets in the 1980s. After the Soviets retreated from Afghanistan, Omar was one of many warlords fighting for control of the country. The Pakistani army gave him support for the drive on Kabul in 1996, which gave the Taliban control of most of the country. Pakistan provided experts, advisors, oil, and supply routes to the outside world.

In addition, Pakistan has treated wounded Taliban fighters in its hospitals and allowed the group to communicate with their operational commanders in Afghanistan. The head of the ISI-backed Haqqani network, Sirajuddin Haqqani, was appointed as one of the two deputy leaders of the Taliban in 2015, further enhancing the agency's sway over the group.

However, the relationship between the two is not without tensions and complexities. Pakistan has warned the Taliban not to make a push on Kabul and has stated that it will not recognize a government that comes to power by force. There are also concerns that the Taliban's presence in Afghanistan could embolden Taliban and other Islamist militants within Pakistan itself, as well as increase sectarian tensions in the country due to the Taliban's anti-Shiite stance.

Furthermore, Pakistan has been critical of Kabul, accusing the Afghan government of allowing the Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) to find safety in Afghanistan and launch attacks on the Pakistani military. While the two insurgent groups are separate, the Afghan Taliban leaders have close ties with their Pakistani counterparts.

Despite these complexities, Pakistan's military leaders view the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as a net win, as it removes the U.S. security umbrella that they believe India was using to expand its influence in Afghanistan at Islamabad's expense. Pakistani leaders would prefer a peaceful end to the conflict in Afghanistan, but only if their Taliban proxies hold decisive influence in any future Afghan government, especially in the country's security apparatus.

The Taliban's relationship with women's rights

After retaking power in 2021, the Taliban initially granted women permission to attend universities, but soon restricted access to education for girls and prohibited women from working in most sectors. They also mandated that women cover their faces in public and barred them from travelling more than 45 miles without a close male relative.

In December 2022, the Taliban extended the ban on university education for women and barred them from working in NGOs, leading to some organisations pausing their operations in Afghanistan. They also shut down beauty salons and banned women from accessing gyms and parks.

The United Nations has described the treatment of women by the Taliban as "gender apartheid", and experts say that 20 years of progress for women's rights in Afghanistan has been erased since the Taliban's takeover. Women in Afghanistan are now denied their fundamental rights and freedoms, including the rights to education, work, health, freedom of movement, and freedom from fear and discrimination.

Afghan women are putting their lives on the line to oppose Taliban abuses and deserve the international community's solidarity in their struggle. The world must also stand with them because the events in Afghanistan have deep implications for gender equality everywhere. If the international community can live with the Taliban's abuses, it sets a dangerous precedent for the fragility of women's rights globally.

The Taliban's relationship with the international community

The Taliban's relationship with neighbouring countries, such as Pakistan, Iran, and China, has been complex and influenced by geopolitical interests. Pakistan has been accused of supporting the Taliban, providing military and financial assistance, and offering safe havens for Taliban leaders. Iran, on the other hand, has opposed the Taliban and supported the Northern Alliance. China has also been accused of supporting the Taliban, particularly during their first rule from 1996 to 2001.

The Taliban's return to power in 2021 has further strained their relationship with the international community. No country has officially recognised the Taliban government. The US and other Western countries have refused to establish diplomatic ties, shut down their diplomatic offices, and imposed additional sanctions. The Taliban's treatment of women and girls, including restrictions on their education, employment, and freedom of movement, has been a significant source of international condemnation.

The international community has also expressed concerns about the Taliban's ties with terrorist organisations, particularly al-Qaeda. There are fears that Afghanistan could once again become a safe haven for terrorists, posing a threat to regional and international security. The killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul by a US drone strike in 2022 further highlights the complex dynamics between the Taliban and international powers.

Despite the tensions, there have been some attempts at engagement and negotiation between the Taliban and the international community. The 2020 US-Taliban peace deal, which included commitments to withdraw US and NATO troops, is an example of such efforts. However, the Taliban's failure to uphold all their commitments and their restrictive policies have hindered progress in improving relations.

The Taliban's relationship with the media

> "We want to establish a system in Afghanistan through which we can control all those things that are wrong, obscene, immoral, and against Islam."

Under the Taliban's policy of maximum control, international and regional media had limited to no presence in the country, and local media was under the ubiquitous control of the Taliban's Islamic Emirate. The radio stations that remained on air were state-run and broadcasted a limited number of programs, consisting mainly of propagandized accounts of international and national news and religion-focused content.

During this period, the Taliban's moral police, Amr Bel Ma'rof (Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice—PVPV), enforced the group's ultra-conservative laws. Offenders were either punished with jail time or public humiliation, such as wrapping tape around their bodies and parading them through the streets in the back of a pickup truck.

After being ousted from power following the 2001 U.S. intervention, the Taliban's approach to media changed dramatically. Over the course of their two-decade insurgency, they developed a complex media strategy that contributed significantly to their rapid military advance and eventual takeover of Afghanistan by August 2021.

The Taliban took advantage of the rapidly changing media landscape and the advent of encrypted messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Viber, and Telegram. Similar to other violent jihadist groups, they established a significant public presence on social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Telegram, and TikTok. This allowed them to cultivate virtual online communities, amplify their recruitment and outreach capabilities, and disseminate their content quickly.

The Taliban also strategically positioned themselves as a nationalist group, aiming to establish their Emirate only in Afghanistan. They framed themselves as a "national" Islamist group fighting against foreign invaders for self-determination, bolstering their legitimacy and delegitimizing the former Afghan government.

Since retaking power in 2021, the Taliban have attempted to craft a different image, distancing themselves from their legacy of brutal force and violent oppression of women. However, in reality, they have been trying to control the flow of information into and out of the country. While national media faces heavy restrictions and international media has limited presence, obtaining valid and independent news from Afghanistan has become extremely difficult.

The Taliban have also tried to control social media by flooding multiple platforms with an active online presence. Dozens of pro-Taliban accounts have sprung up, and many dormant accounts of supporters and associates on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have become active again. These accounts share content that presents the Taliban in a favourable light and function as dissemination channels for various top-down messages of the Taliban's Emirate.

The Taliban's current media strategy combines their desire for authoritarian control over the flow of information from their first period in power with a fiercely competitive and decentralized media approach modelled on their decades of insurgency experience. While they can exert more control over traditional media sources, they face challenges in controlling the narrative online, despite their large number of active supporters and sympathizers across social media platforms.

The Taliban's relationship with education

During their previous rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban banned girls and women from all educational life. Boys and men could still receive an education, but the content was strictly limited. Boys were allowed to attend madrasas, where their studies were mostly limited to strict interpretations of the Quran, taught by a mullah. While some other subjects, such as mathematics, were taught, others, including modern science and art, were not. The Taliban also enforced a dress code for boys, requiring them to wear traditional perahan tunban and grow their beards as soon as they reached puberty.

After the Taliban's return to power in 2021, they once again banned girls from secondary education and later extended this ban to women, preventing them from pursuing higher education at the university level. While boys ostensibly retain access to education, the Taliban have made wholesale changes to the education system, which will have harmful long-term effects on Afghanistan's population and future.

The Taliban have effectively prohibited women from most employment, including teaching roles. This has caused major disruptions to boys' education, as many were previously taught by female teachers. Students in many provinces have described a severe lack of professional teachers due to the Taliban's ban, with boys now being taught by unqualified or less qualified male teachers, or sometimes having no teachers at all. The curriculum has also been changed, with subjects like sports, art, civics, and culture often being replaced with additional hours dedicated to the Quran and Islamic studies.

The Taliban have also been criticized for their use of corporal punishment in schools, with students reporting an increase in practices such as humiliation, beating, slapping, and foot whipping. The enforcement of new school uniforms and the Taliban's restrictive attitudes have further added to the distress of students, many of whom have expressed a lack of hope for the future under Taliban rule.

The Taliban's policies on education have been widely condemned by the international community, with concerns raised about the long-term impact on Afghanistan's society and economy.

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