Taliban’s regime in the nineties was extremely repressive for women and freedoms of the Afghan population. After the recapture of Kabul, the Taliban leadership has started to make tall claims of being different by claiming a comprehensive policy on women issues and human rights in general. The pertinent arises, have the Taliban really changed as they claim? Though time would unravel this mystery, however, Taliban’s commitments to their policies can be used as an acid test to evaluate their performance in shadow governments.
After the Taliban’s resurgence in 2006, the organization managed to establish shadow governments in various districts. Even as early as 2003, the Taliban’s shadow courts were delivering justice and later on, the Taliban began to extract taxes from the locals. These shadow governments offer a unique opportunity to assess how the Taliban ruled in their controlled areas and how they are likely to rule in the future. Shadow governments are a parallel system of government in areas Taliban controlled entirely or had influence over. The most notable component of shadow governments was the shadow courts. The Taliban shadow courts are known for delivering swift, unbiased and corruption-free judgments.
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What will it be like to live under Taliban rule?
A Human Rights Watch report claims that women are more likely to seek Taliban shadow courts for settlement of property and inheritance disputes than the mainstream judiciary. In terms of media and communication, under the shadow governments, populations were allowed to watch television while smartphones were only reserved for the leading Taliban officials. Taliban continued to reach out to urban Afghans via smartphones and the internet. With regards to female education, the Shadow Governments operated entirely according to the local setting and prevailing sentiments among the elders. For instance, in Kunduz province, girls were allowed to attend schools and even travel to government-run regions for university education.
While in Helmand, not even primary education for girls functioned. Anecdotal evidence suggests that after the recapture of Kabul, women in urban centers are allowed to attend university while observing the dress code as well as social norms such as segregation. Hence the issue of female education depends entirely on the local setting, context and assertion of the local elders regarding female education. Much like women’s rights, the vice and virtue department or the Taliban morality police has an inconsistent policy depending on the local contexts. Reports suggest that the vice and virtue department was most strict in Helmand, while most lenient in Kunduz province, again depending on the local setting.
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How strict will be a Taliban rule?
Though public punishments are infrequent and rare, corporal punishments such as beating are still administered. Taliban had claimed that their shadow governments did not impose the social rules as they did in the nineties; the existing restrictions in their territories are, in fact, the local societal norms being observed by the residents themselves. While the issue of providing safe havens to international terrorists was hotly debated even among Taliban ranks even during the nineties. Afghanistan is an extremely complex country to rule, as no one-shoe-fits approach could be successful. Taliban have cleverly adopted a policy of tailoring their practices and governance styles based on the local context with designating maximum power to local officials.
From social restrictions to the status of female empowerment, the Taliban’s governance and even implementation of their stated agenda depend on acceptance and agreement of local tribal elders. This unique approach to governance can confirm that the Taliban will implement their stated policies in urban areas, while in rural areas as well as conservative communities, the status quo will not be challenged. The Taliban leadership is aware that urban Afghanistan is unlikely to give up on their acquired freedoms and rights without resistance, as demonstrated by protests in favor of the Afghan flag.
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Taliban are well aware of the fact that the population would eventually resent its rulers if the promises of prosperity are not accomplished. This will provide an opportunity for resistance forces to exploit the situation. Hence it could be assumed that the Taliban will fulfill their promises in urban Afghanistan while they would maintain the status quo in rural and conservative communities of the country.
The writer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan. He can be reached at op-ed@hafeezkhan.com. The views expressed by the writers do not necessarily represent Global Village Space’s editorial policy