Prof. Lalzad
An Overview of the Life under the Taliban Regime
Taliban were a political-military project created by the Pakistani military intelligence service (ISI) in Pakistan from Afghans, Arabs, Chechens and other religious, fanatic and extremist students and groups in 1994 and exported to Afghanistan to pave the way for their geopolitical interests and strategic depths (domination of Afghanistan) with the name of establishing a pure Islamic society.
They were trained in more than 15,000 Pakistani Islamic Schools (Madrassas) and claimed to be soldiers of Allah and wanted to implement the law of Sharia and the saviours of all Muslims in the world (what Al-Qaeda and international terrorism claim and struggle for today). Though most countries did not recognize the Taliban because of their obvious human rights violations, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia directly supported them with money, supplies and army.
Mullah Omar was the supreme head of the government (spiritual leader) and his edicts were automatically law. Soon after Taliban soldiers marched into a village or city, they made it very clear that everyone was expected to follow their rules (religious orders).
Taliban prohibited TV, Cinema, theatre, music, dance, shaving, several sport, kite flying and other aspects of our culture such as celebration of New Year's Day (Nowroze). Taliban also decreed that both singing and playing an instrument were illegal. The most savage action was that even the cheep and peep of birds were against their barbaric laws! Taliban enforced the banning of any artwork or photography that showed the faces of living things. Attendance and praying at the mosque (5 times per day) were enforced for every man. Fathers were required to marry off their daughters under the age of 12 and keeping a girl over this age was announced to be a crime.
Beatings and imprisonment by the Taliban's police were common punishments for what they considered minor offences like kite flying and listening to music. They beat old men on the street for not having long beards or boys for having long hair or not wearing a turban.
Women’s right
Taliban changed the whole life of our society. Even though the whole population suffered in general, but women lived especially difficult and endured terrible hardships. Because they were denied basic human rights (such as the right to their own bodies, the right to speak, to give and receive health care, education, the right to work and walk down the street) and kept in complete isolation. Shortly, women life was a real hellfire on earth:
- Girls were prohibited from attending schools and universities.
- Girls were forced to be married under the age of 12 by their relatives.
- Women were not allowed to work outside of the home.
- Women were forced to wear the burka, a huge garment that completely covers the body, leaving only a small mesh opening through which to breathe and see.
- Women were not allowed to leave the confine of their homes unless accompanied by a close male relative (husband, father, brother and uncle).
- Women had to paint their windows to hide themselves from view.
- Women were not allowed to be examined or treated by a male doctor.
- Women were forbidden to wear white socks and their shoes should not make noise when they walked.
- Women were forbidden from attending any social engagement with men.
Some of the punishments for breaking the Taliban rules were as follows:
- Women were beaten harshly on the streets for not being "properly" dressed (not having a burka, wearing white socks or noisy shoes).
- Women were beaten severely for leaving their homes without a male (close relative) escort.
- Women were stoned to death for travelling with a man who was not her close relative.
- Women (and men) were stoned to death on the suspicion that they may have committed adultery.
Tens of thousands of families were thrown into poverty and destitution due to the ban on women working, because many women in the country were war-widows and the only source of support for their families. A small number of female medical staff were allowed to work, but were continually harassed. Because male doctors could not treat women, they were severely limited in their access to medical care. All these happened in a society where women were educated and employed: 50% of the students and 60% of the teachers at Kabul University were women and 70% of school teachers, 50% of civilian government workers and 40% of doctors in Kabul were women.
Other Offences
- Those convicted of stealing had their hands amputated and all punishments were carried out at outdoor areas or football stadiums.
- Convicted killers were executed by relatives of their victims, who also have the authority under Islam to forgive the criminal and accept blood money instead.
- Those convicted of homosexuality were placed in front of a brick wall that was crashed down. After several minutes, the rubble was removed and anyone who survived was forgiven.
- Those convicted of having relations with someone they were not married to were sentenced to 100 lashings in the public eye.
Civilian Massacres, Ethnic Cleansing and Cultural Vandalism
Afghanistan is a multiethnic society composed of minorities (Hazaras, Tajiks, Pashtuns, Uzbeks and etc.) where no ethnic is more than 30%. The Taliban rulers were largely Pashtuns. Although Pashtuns had long been involved in Afghanistan politics, but under the Taliban rule it was an extensive push to force Pashtunisation and impose Pashtun values (tribal culture) on other ethnics. The Hazara and Hindu ethnic groups were particular targets of the Taliban as “infidels”. They said that they would be killed unless they chose either to convert or leave Afghanistan and Hindus were obliged to wear yellow bandages. The process of ethnic cleansing and killing of thousands of civilians barbarically continued in the north and central part of Afghanistan under the name of crushing the resistance against establishing a pure Islamic State.
In addition to closing the schools and universities, imprisoning all women and girls inside their homes and imposing a fanatic and pre-historic tribal culture on the whole society, they exploded the giant Buddhas, the unique and most famous historic treasures of humankind that survived centuries. Moreover they destroyed hundreds of other artefacts of the National Museum in Kabul with the pretext of idols of worship which are more than crimes against humanity. Surprisingly, the rest of our historical treasures were transferred to Pakistan and other countries across the globe.
A New “Great Game”
Tens of thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced (internally and externally) and the whole society came to a halt – moving towards the Stone Age. Indeed they created such a monster (Taliban/Al-Qaeda or international terrorism) that not only burned Afghanistan, but its flames spread over the world - reached New York, Madrid, Bally, London and etc. Still this threat is the biggest challenge of the time.
What is sad today is that even after toppling of the Taliban regime nobody was punished for all these crimes, genocides and ethnic cleansing. What is more tragic today is that still these swamps and factories are actively operating in the tribal areas of Pakistan – training, producing and exporting terrorists to everywhere around the world to fight civilisation. Strangely, USA and the coalition forces instead of beheading the monster in its host/cave/nest, cleaning the swamps and destroying the production factories in Pakistan, are playing/fighting with its babies and by-products in Afghanistan. Amazingly, Pakistan is receiving millions of aids as a reward for being an ally for fighting terrorism from one hand and from the other hand its proposal for fencing and mining the border (to block the infiltration) is being rejected by Karzai!
It was expected that the Karzai regime would bring peace, stability and reconstruction to Afghanistan, but instead they are drowning day by day in extensive corruption and tribalism. Billions of aids were spent over the past 5 years without any tangible changes and no transparency and accountability at all. The concrete outcomes and the biggest concerns are intensification of insurgence and strengthening of Taliban and Talibanism, spread of narcotic and creation of a narco-state and the conversion of the country to a second Iraq for coalition forces (the unholy alliance of fundamentalism, narcotism and terrorism as a new axis of evil). All these issues indicate the start of a new “great game” in the region with new players!
London – 25 April 2006
