So, after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban immediately overthrew the IR. Do people in Afghanistan actually support the IE? And what about the women? What about Malala Yousafzai’s testimonies?
I can only tell you what Afghani family friends have told us, that being that the Taliban have actually done a pretty good job on issues of food security and basic governance. They’ve stopped the ludicrous farming of opium and instead begun programs to replace those fields with wheat and other edible crops. They’re mired by US sanctions, attacks from fundamentalist forces (the Taliban has moderated quite a bit since it’s inception), and threats from Pakistan which are still occurring.
The biggest issue that is being faced in our and our friend’s opinion is the total lack of women’s ability to participate in education. This is probably the issue that we think is holding Afghanistan back more than anything else besides the sanctions. Women not having these rights, specifically the fact that their is very little infrastructure for mass education programs, is stunting Afghanistans development in every respect.
It’s particularly egregious considering the model of academic excellence right next to them in Iran, which is a country that’s scientific industry is predominantly women. Not to mention the massive strides political thought that have occurred since the revolution due to campagin to increase women’s literacy and access to education.
There are talks between the two countries, which our friends hope mean that the Taliban is asking for help regarding this issue. However it still remains a core concern that’s holding the country back. Half the population, ready and willing to transform their soceity are bring systematically shut out, and everyone suffers as a result.
It’s not exactly looking bleak in the country, at least compared to the last 20 years, but there is a lot that needs to be done, and many challenges to be confronted.
The issue goes far beyond merely participation in education. For all intents an and purposes, women are all but sex slaves under Taliban law, and the inordinate suppression of the entire gender is holding the nation back from essentially any meaningful progress.
Last month alone, child marriage was formally codified in national law.
The problem is also that there is essentially no local judiciary or legislatory mechanism at a local level beyond a small group of men meeting in a room and arbitrating local disputes by giving out whatever ruling or punishment they feel like at the moment. The appearance of a unified state is essentially an illusion.
