Selay Ghaffar

It is a crystal-clear fact that the U.S. in two decades never fought for Afghans’ freedom, be it the Afghan women or other segments of the society. The U.S. administration needed a strong justification for this prolonged war to win the public support, particularly when Osama was killed and the American public began questioning the reason for continuing the “war on terror”, and nothing could have carried more weight as did “women’s liberation”. Laura Bush emotional radio address in November 2001 about the situation of Afghan women was certainly heart-breaking for the American people. Time magazine followed suit with a special report on the oppression of women in Afghanistan titled, "Lifting the Veil". Americans from across the political spectrum cheered this policy.

Media did a better job than the U.S. administration in portraying a rosy picture of Afghan women under the U.S. occupation. By bringing few show-ladies into their limelight, they could easily win the heart and mind of Americans, blind-minding them of the actual reality on the ground. The ruthless murder of Furkhunda, beheading of Tabasum and stoning-to-death of Rukhshana should have been enough evidence to reveal the truth about the U.S. tyrannical policy in Afghanistan, and the depth and intensity of the misery Afghan women undergoing in the U.S.-occupied Afghanistan.

The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan resulted quite the opposite of “creating a new generation of educated women and girls who are more prepared to fight for their rights than those in the 90s.” They “educated” a small group of Afghan women who were not “prepared to fight for their rights” but to collude and hobnob with the misogynists and depraved criminals, mafia and the corrupted politicians. They were mealy-mouthed for the money and resources they were earning from the parliament, ministerial positions, and foreign trips. In fact, these U.S.-fostered women and girls stabbed Afghan women from behind, weakening the struggle of Afghan women for their rights.

Taliban’s sudden takeover of Kabul was not of a big surprise because it was clear from the deal they have struck with the U.S. back in February 2020 that the U.S. had promised them a big gift. When the U.S makes no hesitation to help the release of 5,000 Taliban’s murderous prisoners, then no one should be surprised to see the falling of Kabul to the Taliban so swiftly and smoothly.

Afghanistan is now going through the most turbulent period in history because of the perilous U.S. – Taliban deal and the mess left behind by the U.S.’s occupying forces. It is of no importance for the U.S. if the terrorists continue to shed the blood of innocent civilians, what matters for the U.S is to make a deal with the religio-fascists that better serve their interests.

Today, more than ever, it should have been clear to the whole world that the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan had nothing to do with “war on terror” or destroying “the terrorist sanctuaries” or bringing "democracy, welfare, freedom" to Afghanistan, the U.S in contrast used the Taliban as a pretext for occupying our war-ravaged homeland. And after two decades of killing the innocent people, pushed Afghanistan further into the terrorism and mafia’s trap.

The U.S. has spent 1.5 trillion dollars and deployed over 775,000 troops in Afghanistan over the course of 19 years. They can’t afford to continue with this exorbitant option anymore, therefore, preferred to change the gear and go for a less expensive option. By getting Turkey involved in Afghanistan as a member of NATO and as a Muslim country, the U.S. looks for a less hectic tactic to retain its military control over key positions like Kabul Airport. On other hand, the deal with the Taliban would give the U.S government a competitive edge over its economic and military rivals while keeping Afghanistan in its occupation with a least cost.

Taliban’s sudden and mysterious takeover of Kabul was of course a surprise for the whole world, but their subsequent actions against women was not at a surprise at least for Afghan women who immediately began to feel a sense of déjà vu, reminding them of the gloomy past. As was to be expected, Taliban had no hesitation in emplacing a systematic segregation or better to say gender apartheid as soon as they seized power; and their very first target was innocent school girls who were barred from going to school. And then they went after the female employees and women activists. This all happened in this modern era; in front of our own eyes while the world is just watching them, or in a better case issuing statements.

Women are not the only victims of the medieval regime of the Taliban. The entire population is now at a high risk of starvation, racial discriminations and ethnic cleansing. Hanging of four dead bodies from a crane in public is a clear indication of a barbaric regime, and a trademark of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate. While 98% of population is estimated to be living below the poverty line under the Taliban rule, the rate of crime will proportionally increase, which would then make the Taliban to exercise such brutal punishments more frequently.

Ironically, the only pre-condition set by the world community to recognize the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate, is a gentle plea to them to form an “inclusive and broad-based government”, which literally means bringing back Jehadi criminals and the traitors, who became wealthy emperors from the loose money they had looted in 20 years. These self-proclaimed religious and communal leaders can never represent Afghanistan’s minorities and ethnics. Taliban, being the brothers-in-creed of Jehadis that share a common ideology, would ultimately come down to include them in power by an order from their abettor, the Pakistan army.

The world must understand that Afghan women have always borne the brunt of a tragedy created by the U.S. The West led by the U.S. invented these monsters for their own vested interests without thinking for a second what will happen to women once they are unleashed. Islamic fundamentalists of all brands, whether Taliban or Jihadis, are the by-products of the U.S. policy in Afghanistan, and the U.S. government along with NATO must, therefore, be held accountable for the current tragedy, and all the miseries Afghan women have been going through in the past 4 decades.

How long more we, the Afghan women, must suffer? Enough is enough! It is time for all progressive women and men to get united on a single platform against a common enemy, the Islamic fundamentalists who continue to threat, not only Afghan women, but the world at large. With the Taliban now running the government under direct supervision of Pakistan, Afghanistan would soon turn into a safe heaven for the Jehadi terrorists. The U.S., China and Russia stare at Afghanistan in a search to find their own their interests, which would ultimately drag them to come along with the Taliban. The path to salvation and women’s liberation is not through seeking help from these world powers and their affiliated organizations, it must come from an Afghan-led movement by forging strong bonds with the progressive movements, organizations and individuals.

The U.S. created and promoted the Islamic fundamentalism merely to stop the spread of communism and progressive movements across the globe. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980s helped the U.S. mission to a greater extend, providing them a golden opportunity to train and arm the religious fundamentalism. To cover up the devilish nature of this mission, the U.S. was playing a double game by funding “disposable” projects for women in countries where they were supporting the fundamentalists.

Taliban has been created on an idea to be a brutal force with the religion as their main power. Their creators believed that they could gain power only by suppressing innocent people through intimidation, terror and imposing harsh religious rules. And therefore, their rule is retained as long as they stick to these violent means. The proof is in the pudding; their brutal killing of comic actor Khasha, which sparked fear and loathing particularly among the artists, reminded us of their barbaric and ignorant nature, and the type of regime they would like to implement.