Just as we were being told that the present day Taliban respect women and are not like their predecessors, bang comes a Firman from the Taliban demanding for a list of girls above 15 and widows below 45 years of age to be compulsorily married off to their Jihadi fighters, much like the ISIS brides.

This latest diktat from the Taliban comes as it gains control of major portions of Afghanistan with US troops and NATO pulling out after about 20 years. The Taliban controls many key districts of Afghanistan including border posts with Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Afghan security forces and military have put up little or no resistance after often being left without supplies or reinforcements.

The Taliban, fighting with Afghanistan forces to take full control of the country, has issued a statement ordering local Maulvis and Imams to give them a list of girls over 15 years of age and widows under 45, reports have said.

The Taliban has reportedly demanded them to be married off to their jihadi fighters and taken to Pakistan’s Waziristan, where they will be converted to Islam.

According to the Sun, a letter was issued in the name of Taliban’s Cultural Commission, “All imams and mullahs in captured areas should provide the Taliban with a list of girls above 15 and widows under 45 to be married to Taliban fighters”.

Earlier Taliban had issued orders in areas under its control asking women in Afghanistan’s northeastern province of Takhar to not step out from their homes alone without male escortsand men were asked to grow beards as they also set dowry regulations for girls as the Taliban believe in strictly adhering to the fundamentalist Medieval Islamic practices mentioned in their holy book and Hadis.

The Taliban has started enforcing fundamentalist and barbaric religious code of conduct followed under its regime in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. During their rule, women were barred from going to school, work outside the home or leave their house without a male escort in Afghanistan. Cruel corporeal punishments were given, barbaric excutions were made in football grounds and women were stoned to death for violating laws of adultery. Education and Sports suffered. Music and dance was totally banned and there was no concept of freedom of expression nor democracy, everything was ruled by the barrel of gun.

Twenty years later nothing seems to have changed much in the barbaric attitude of the Jihadi outfit, as the regular Afghani citizens are very fearful that the Taliban will take away their daughters and forcefully marry them and turn them into sex slaves. The Financial Times quotes an Afghan elder, Haji Rozi Baig who said, “Since the Taliban took over, we feel depressed. At home, we can’t speak loudly, can’t listen to music and can’t send women to the Friday market. They are asking about family members. The [Taliban] sub-commander said you should not keep girls over the age of 18; it’s sinful, they must get married.” Baig further stated, “I’m sure the next day they will come and take my 23- and 24-year-old daughters and marry them by force”.

Notably, 140 civil society and faith leaders dedicated to education and rights of women in Afghanistan from various countries including the US, Afghanistan etc. wrote to US President Joe Biden on May 14th to call for a UN Peace Keeping Force according to the Associated Press.

They also urged the US in the letter for increasing humanitarian and development aid to Afghanistan “as an important security strategy” to strengthen women, girls and religious minorities like the Hazaras.

The situation in Afghanistan, specially for women, girl children and sensitive parents is very heart rending. The world community cannot just sit and watch helplessly by airing their outrages in social media and fancy symposiums. It is high time the UN sends a huge contingent of Peace Keeping Force to ensure safety and security of women, children and decent men who want to educate their children, girl or boy without any discrimination, and lead peaceful lives away from terror of Medieval age barbarism under the Taliban.

News input : Hindustan Times

Image sourced from internet

 

 

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