Slipping back to the Taliban

By: Haroun Mir
May 3, 2008

Foreigners should step in to stop the government allowing Taliban-style laws to creep back in

The current debate in the Afghan parliament and the media is on the vulnerability of Afghan culture and religious values vis-à-vis the influx of Hollywood and Bollywood movies and TV shows.

The debate gives the impression that Afghanistan has overcome all other vital issues – political instability, insurgency, and poverty –, allowing Afghan lawmakers and elite politicians to dedicate their valuable time to debating what Afghans should watch on TV and how youth should dress in the streets of Kabul.

Ultimately, the goal of these polarised and unconstructive debates is to reduce the ever growing influence of private TVs in Afghanistan. Despite the need to find solutions to food shortages, enact new laws to protect women’s right, and to improve existing banking and business laws, a number of Afghan parliamentarians are working hard to re-introduce Taliban laws.

In addition, some prominent local mullahs have decided to force private TV channels to stop airing Indian serials and other TV programs, which contradict their own interpretations of Islam.

Sadly, a number of self-declared intellectuals have also joined efforts with the mullahs and conservative parliamentarians to regulate people’s private life under he guise of safeguarding Afghan culture.

What is the motivation behind a coalition of mullahs, conservative parliamentarians, and pseudo intellectuals to oppose private TVs?

It seems that behind this debate there are clear political manipulations, which will serve the interest of those who fear private TV stations in Afghanistan.

The achievements of private stations in Afghanistan have been tremendous and Afghanistan has moved from having one public television station to more than 10 private stations in less than six years.

More than 60% of the Afghan population is young and close to 40% of them are below 18-years-old.

The Afghan youth – like any other young people around the world – look for entertainment. It is quit normal that private stations, which target the Afghan youth, are the most viewed televisions in Afghanistan.

For instance, according to The Asia Foundation’s 2007 Survey, Tolo TV, which is one of the most successful private televisions in the country, is watched by more than 50% of TV viewers throughout the country.

Indeed, Tolo pioneered the broadcasting of Indian serials, which have attracted large numbers of TV viewers.

In a true democracy the free media constitute a real political force. In this pre-election year in Afghanistan most of the politicians understand the power of private stations, which have come under constant attack from conservative religious groups and government agencies during the past few years.

In fact, the current fervour to curb foreign influence over Afghan culture and religion is not a genuine popular reaction against the private stations. Rather, it is a political manipulation by people within the government and conservative political groups, which feel threatened by the power of free media.

Since the Afghan constitution doesn’t allow the interference of executive power in the media, a number of government officials try to manipulate religious zealots in order to achieve their objective, which consists of limiting the influence of private stations.

Recently, in the political debates on the Afghan national television station, RTA, there has been an orchestrated biased debate on the negative influence of foreign culture over Afghan youth.

How is the Afghan culture defined?

In the course of the last three decades more than five million Afghans have sought refuge in the neighbouring countries.

The majority of young Afghan refugees have grown up in Iran and Pakistan and have adopted the culture of their host countries.

Similarly, a considerable number of people have left their villages for the safety of big cities inside the country.

The majority of Kabulis who have returned to the country after long years of exile feel alienated. Kabuli culture has totally disappeared.

The majority of Kabul’s original population moved out of the country, and the city has been populated by people from surrounding provinces and refugee returnees from Pakistan and Iran.

Today, in this era of globalisation, it is hard to keep Afghan culture away from foreign influence. The country belongs to the Islamic world. Islam has survived more than 14 centuries and will never be undermined in Afghanistan by TV shows or teenagers’ adopting modern life styles.

There are serious injustices in the Afghan culture and society, such as forced marriage, which should be rectified. Mullahs and conservative parliamentarians should vigorously fight corruption, drug production, and prostitution, which are against both religious and traditional Afghan cultural values, instead of regulating people’s private lives.

It is a phoney statement to say that, by banning some of the TV shows, one could safeguard the Afghan culture.

Sadly, the conservative elements in Afghan society have become much more powerful, despite being a minority in the country. This is because the secular elements have become too much politicised and thus divided by ethnic and sectarian differences.

In addition, the fear of being accused of heresy has silenced the majority of seculars in Afghanistan.

he Afghan government, normally the protector of the Afghan constitution, must avoid political manipulations and religious polarisation.

If the new legislation offered by conservative members of Parliament is passed – and if president Karzai signs it – then it will be a great achievement for the Taliban. More than six years after the fall of the Taliban regime, their laws are returning to regulate people’s life, which remind people of their atrocities and abuses in the name of Islam from 1996 to 2001.

It will become difficult for coalition countries in Afghanistan to justify the ultimate sacrifice of their young soldiers by supporting a government which might embrace the Taliban laws.

It is now the right moment for them to use their leverage on the Afghan government in order to stop Afghanistan from sliding back into Taliban era practices.

Haroun Mir served as an aide to late Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghanistan's former defense minister. He is the co-founder and deputy director of Afghanistan's Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS).

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