More Repressive Measures In Pipeline As Taliban Reverts To ‘Old Practices’ In Afghanistan

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Frud Behzan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
December 26, 2022

After forcibly seizing power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban made a public effort to assuage concerns by the international community that it would return to its brutal rule of the 1990s.

But the militant Islamist group has gradually reverted to its repressive policies of the past as the prospect of international recognition and assistance has diminished, experts said.

In recent weeks, the Taliban has reintroduced corporal punishments, including public floggings. The militants have also intensified their assault on women’s rights, including recently banning women from attending university.

Observers said there are likely more draconian edicts in the pipeline as the Taliban reestablishes a theocratic state governed by the militant group’s extreme and tribal interpretation of Islamic Shari’a law.

“It is very likely that the Taliban will increasingly impose more repressive measures,” said Weeda Mehran, co-director of the Center for Advanced International Studies (CAIS) at the University of Exeter. “This trend has been established.”

‘Draconian Policies’

In the past 16 months, the Taliban has imposed dozens of restrictions on women’s appearances, freedom of movement, and their right to work and receive an education.

Only girls below the sixth grade are allowed to attend school. High schools for girls have been closed, despite repeated promises to reopen them. In a major blow, the Taliban banned women from attending university on December 20.

The Taliban’s university ban has fueled speculation that the group will impose a blanket ban on education for girls and women like during its first stint in power from 1996-2001. The Taliban’s higher education minister has called female education “un-Islamic and against Afghan values.”

The militants have also reintroduced corporal punishments in recent weeks, including the public flogging of men and women for crimes such as theft, eloping from home, and committing adultery.

On December 7, a man was publicly executed in western Afghanistan, the first such event to be carried out since the Taliban takeover. The execution was attended by top Taliban leaders.

The public punishments came soon after Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada ordered the group’s courts to employ strict interpretations of Shari’a law, which prescribes punishments such as stoning, execution, amputation, and public lashings. The Taliban handed down similar punishments during its previous rule.

Mehran of the University of Exeter said the Taliban has been gradually returning to its “old practices” as its hopes of recognition by the international community have dimmed.

“The only reason the Taliban did not originally implement its draconian policies at the same level and extent as its first regime in the 1990s was because the group was vying for international recognition, aid, and trade,” said Mehran.

In the Taliban’s first press conference after seizing power in Kabul, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid pledged to uphold the free press and women’s rights — though within the framework of Islam. But the militants have failed to live up to their promises and instead reimposed many of the repressive policies of the past.

Omar Sadr, an author and research scholar at the University of Pittsburgh, said the Taliban has strategically used the Islamic concept of “taqiya,” or deliberate deception, to mislead the international community.

“The group’s stance was ambiguous as it never promised basic human rights based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, gender equality, and democratic governance,” said Sadr. “Many interpreted the ambiguous stance as moderation. But there was no evidence to support the assumption that the Taliban aimed to moderate.”

Analysts said the Taliban is likely to impose more restrictions in the year ahead, including further eroding women’s rights, expanding its crackdown on dissent, empowering its notorious morality police to forcefully impose Taliban edicts, and increasing its use of corporal punishments.

‘Pure’ Islamic System

The Taliban’s supreme leader has repeatedly pledged to establish what he has called a “pure” Islamic system in Afghanistan, without offering any details.

Afghanistan was an Islamic republic under the political system that was ushered in after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban from power in 2001. The 2004 constitution prescribed that “no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam,” although it contained more liberal and democratic elements.

Observers said the Taliban has retained its goal of recreating a theocracy based on its radical interpretation of Islam.

“The key features of its medievalist vision of political order are a lack of differentiation between the public and private, extensive policing of individual behavior, and degrading of women to second-class subjects,” said Sadr.

In October Mujahid announced that the group was working on creating a new constitution.

In the late 1990s, the Taliban drafted a 14-page constitution — the first and only attempt by the group to codify its views on power and governance. But the document was never officially ratified, and it was unclear how much of it was ever implemented before the militants were ousted from power.

Haroun Rahimi, an Afghan academic who researches Islamic law, said the Taliban is moving toward a “greater use of codification.”

“The recent trend has certainly been a shift away from a more laissez faire approach to a more regimented enforcement of what the Taliban consider to be Islamic principles,” said Rahimi.

During the summer, Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani published a book that some observers have labeled the Taliban’s manifesto. The book, which was reportedly endorsed by the Taliban leadership, hints at the group’s political vision for Afghanistan.

“The book makes an argument for the extensive enforcement of Islamic rules through state force on par with the first rendition of the Islamic Emirate,” said Rahimi, referring to the official name of the Taliban government. “How this unfolds in practice remains to be seen.”

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Mental Illnesses Under Taliban

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8am: Since the Taliban takeover, Afghan citizens have been dealing with many psychological disorders, and the mental health of millions has been damaged. Previously, with Taliban suicide attacks, roadside bombings, assassinations of government employees and foreign institutions, and other acts of violence by this group, the collective psyche of the society had been severely damaged, and Afghanistan was among the most mentally affected countries in the world. Click here to read more (external link).

Tens of Thousands of Afghans Work Their Way Through US Immigration System

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Aline Barros
VOA News
December 25, 2022

More than a year after the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan, tens of thousands of Afghan families totaling more than 88,500 individuals have resettled in the United States through different immigration paths.

Some have access to permanent residence while the rest have permission for short-term stays without the chance for a more permanent status unless they apply for asylum or Congress passes legislation to change their status.

For those with temporary status, their best hope to stay is the Afghan Adjustment Act, draft legislation that would give Afghan evacuees with temporary status a pathway to permanent U.S. residence. Although the measure has been introduced in both chambers, it has yet to come up for a vote.

After the evacuation of Kabul in August 2021, the Biden administration partnered with nonprofit organizations to give Afghan refugees temporary assistance with housing, food and clothing and also help them to secure employment and qualify for health care.

Special Immigrant Visa

Approved by Congress more than a decade ago, the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) is for Afghans who worked as interpreters or guides for the U.S. military or were employed by the U.S. government or on its behalf in Afghanistan during the 20-year war. The SIV program leads to permanent residence and a path to naturalization for those Afghans and their families.

The number of SIVs available to people in Afghanistan is set by statute, and Congress can increase the number. In 2021, Congress approved 8,000 SIVs for Afghan principal applicants, bringing the total to 34,500 since 2014.

Since the start of the Biden administration through Nov. 1, 2022, the State Department has issued nearly 19,000 SIVs to principal applicants and their eligible family members, a department spokesperson told VOA on background via email. About 15,000 more SIV principal applicants are awaiting visa interviews, the step before being issued an SIV. About 48,000 more have submitted all of their documents and are awaiting the next step in the approval process.

The SIV program stumbled in the six months following the Taliban takeover in August 2021. During the evacuation, the program for Afghan nationals nearly ground to a halt when the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan suspended operations.

Afghan consular services were transferred outside Afghanistan. While some Afghans traveled to Pakistan to process their immigration cases and visa applications, some were flown to Qatar where they were processed for resettlement in the U.S.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, who spoke to VOA in November on background and did not want to be named, said that of the 88,500 Afghans who resettled in the U.S., more than 77,000 were allowed into the U.S. for humanitarian reasons on a case-by-case basis. About half of them could be eligible to apply for or continue the SIV process in the United States.

Humanitarian parole

Humanitarian parole is special permission given to those hoping to enter the United States under emergency circumstances.

In the last 16 months, more than 50,000 Afghans living outside the United States applied for humanitarian parole, but fewer than 500 have been approved.

The DHS spokesperson told VOA that in a typical year, the United States receives about 2,000 requests for humanitarian parole from all nationalities. Of those requests, about 500-700 are approved annually. There are several reasons applicants are rejected, but most often it’s because they could not prove they were in an emergency situation.

The DHS official told VOA that humanitarian parole is not intended to replace the refugee resettlement channel, including the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which is the typical pathway for individuals who have fled their country of origin to come to the United States seeking protection.

Still, the DHS official said, the U.S. government recognizes that in some limited circumstances, the need for protection is “so urgent that obtaining protection via the USRAP is not a realistic option,” because some refugees are not able to leave their countries and start the application process.

Humanitarian parole for Afghans living outside the U.S. is still available, but according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency is “currently receiving an extremely high number of requests for parole” and that “petitioners should expect to wait significantly longer than 90 days for their parole request to be processed.”

Afghan evacuees who arrived in the U.S. without a visa or any proper documentation had to file for humanitarian parole because of the urgent humanitarian reasons at the time. They were given parole under the authority delegated to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Officers use discretion to grant humanitarian parole if the person requesting protection is at a U.S. Port of Entry.

To qualify for humanitarian parole, a foreign national must show examples of the urgent humanitarian circumstances they find themselves in, and it is limited to one year, but U.S. immigration officials can extend it another year.

Anyone admitted under the humanitarian parole designation is temporarily protected from deportation and allowed to apply for authorization to work. Humanitarian Parole does not confer permanent immigration status or constitute a path to U.S. citizenship.

Family reunification

On Nov. 14, the State Department launched a website with information for Afghans in the U.S. who want to reunite with family members still in Afghanistan.

Afghans who are naturalized U.S. citizens or who hold a lawful permanent residence card, also known as green card, can file petitions with the government to bring their direct relatives to the U.S. under immigrant visas that lead to permanent status.

Afghans who received humanitarian parole can petition to bring their spouse or minor children to the U.S. as refugees. Some may even be eligible to receive help from the U.S. government to leave Afghanistan.

The number of applications under family reunification was not readily available.

Refugee program

This August, the State Department announced a priority eligibility under the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program for Afghans who worked for the U.S. government, U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations, or American news organizations.

The program provides a straightforward path to the refugee resettlement process, but the refugees must, on their own, first reach a third country where they can contact the State Department to begin the resettlement process.

According to DHS, the State Department is managing referrals to the refugee program, but there generally is no direct contact with the U.S. government before an applicant leaves Afghanistan.

Approved applicants will then receive travel documents and resettle in the United States.

Under U.S. immigration law, refugees may apply for green cards to become permanent residents after one year in the United States. After five years of permanent residency, they can apply for U.S. citizenship.

In the first two months of fiscal 2023, which began Oct. 1, 540 Afghans were resettled through the program. In fiscal 2022, that number was 1,618. In the last two months of fiscal 2021, which coincided with the Afghanistan evacuation efforts, 378 Afghan refugees resettled in the U.S.

Asylum

Afghans in the U.S. who are unable to become permanent residents can apply for asylum. Afghan humanitarian parolees would generally apply for affirmative asylum through a process done by the USCIS.

According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, in general, “affirmative asylum cases have a somewhat lower average wait time,” but the current interview backlog is still at 1.6 million cases of asylum and other immigration applications.

The wait time for a hearing on an immigrant’s asylum claim is between two to six years.

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Global Outrage Grows, Groups Suspend Operations After Taliban Bans Women NGO Staff In Afghanistan

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By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
December 25, 2022

Worldwide condemnation against the Taliban decision to ban women from working at domestic and international NGOs heightened on December 25, with at least three foreign groups saying they will suspend operations in Afghanistan.

The Swiss-based CARE, the U.S.-based Save the Children, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRE) all said they were suspending aid operations in Afghanistan following the Taliban rulers’ announcement that all NGOs should ban women from working at their jobs or face losing their license to operate in the country.

“We cannot effectively reach children, women, and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff,” the three aid groups said in a joint statement.

Western nations and international organizations expressed condemnation of the Taliban move, with the United Nations saying the decision “takes the country backward” and the United States, Germany, and the EU among those assailing the action.

The Taliban on December 24 said in a letter from the Islamist group’s economy ministry that domestic and international NGOs should suspend all female employees because it said the women were not in compliance with regulations regarding the wearing of a hijab, or the traditional head scarf, in the conservative Muslim nation.

The decision, along with an earlier move to ban women from attending universities, sparked rare protests in the country against the hard-line Taliban rulers and caused consternation among the workers themselves.

“I was so upset when I heard about the Taliban decree that I couldn’t even sleep last night,” a woman in the central province of Daikundi who has been working for an NGO told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. She asked that her name and exact location not be disclosed because of fears for her safety.

“I’m the only breadwinner in my family. We don’t have anyone else in my family who can work. My entire life depended on my work. [My family] doesn’t have any other income.”

She added that “it’s not only me who is in this situation. All my colleagues are distraught. All the women I spoke to are upset.”

“I can’t describe how concerned and hopeless we feel right now,” she said.

In its statement, the Norwegian Refugee Council said: “Without women driving our response, we would not have jointly reached millions of Afghans in need since August 2021. Beyond the impact on delivery of lifesaving assistance, this will affect thousands of jobs in the midst of an enormous economic crisis.”

CARE, which has provided aid services throughout the world since 1945, said it was “deeply concerned” by the ban.

It said that without women aid workers, “NGOs may not be able to reach women, girls, and families, cutting access to aid for half of a population already suffering from a hunger crisis.”

Since the Taliban seized power in August last year, Western officials and activists, along with some inside Afghanistan, have expressed deep concerns about women’s rights under the extreme conservative rule of the Islamist Taliban leadership despite their vow to protect rights.

Women’s rights were severely restricted during the Taliban’s first stint in power until they were driven from government by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

With reporting by AFP

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Two Girls in Samangan Raped, Beheaded by Taliban Fighters, Reports

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8am: Sources confirmed to Hasht-e Subh on Saturday that two bodyguards of the Taliban governor for Roy Doab district, Mullah Shamshad, raped these two girls a week ago in Surkh Qala village of the same vicinity and then beheaded them in front of their families. According to locals, after his bodyguards raped these girls, Mullah Shamshad showed up on the scene and ordered his men to execute the victims immediately on charges of adultery. Meanwhile, according to reports, the Taliban are harassing families in the northern parts of Afghanistan to have their daughters persuaded to marry Taliban members. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan’s Taliban Rulers Order NGOs To Prevent Women From Working At Their Jobs As Protests Spread

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
December 24, 2022

In the latest assault on women’s rights, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers ordered all domestic and international NGOs to prevent female employees from working at their jobs, claiming that many were not observing dress codes in the conservative Muslim nation.

“There have been serious complaints regarding the nonobservance of the Islamic hijab and other rules and regulations pertaining to the work of females in national and international organizations,” the Islamist group’s economy ministry said on December 24 in a note sent to NGOs and seen by AFP and other Western news agencies.

AP reported that the note said that any organization which did not comply with the order would have its license to operate in the country revoked.

Full details of the order were not immediately available, and it was not clear how it would affect the various United Nations agencies operating in Afghanistan.

The reports come as rare protests continued to erupt in parts of Afghanistan following the Taliban decision announced on December 20 to forbid women from universities, drawing condemnation from the international community and the UN.

Taliban security forces have used violence and arrested several people as they have dispersed protests by Afghan women against the ruling.

On December 24, dozens of women and girls protested in the western city of Herat before they were stopped by security forces, according to video posted on social media.

AP said it observed video showing women yelling and running for cover to avoid water cannons before returning to the main street to continue their protest.

VOA quoted a local Taliban official as saying that security forces blocked protesters from reaching buildings housing the provincial government.

On December 22, a group of some 50 women dressed in hijabs, some wearing masks, gathered in the capital, Kabul, for a protest march against the move before they were attacked and dispersed by Taliban security forces, participants and witnesses told RFE/RL.

Several hundred medical students — both male and female — protested against the measure at Nangarhar University’s medical school in eastern Afghanistan on December 21.

Some of the female students, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals by the Talban, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi that their end-of-semester exams were supposed to begin on December 22, but following the announcement, they were barred from taking the exams.

In a rare display of solidarity, some male students joined the protest and refused to take part in the exams as well.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has urged the Taliban rulers to revoke the decision to ban female students from universities.

UNAMA warned that preventing women from “contributing meaningfully to society and the economy will have a devastating impact on the whole country,” and bring more international isolation and economic hardship to a country already on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier said he was “deeply alarmed” by the Taliban decision, labeling it another “broken promise” by the group — which vowed to protect women’s rights when it took power.

Since the Taliban seized power in August of last year, Western officials and activists, along with some inside Afghanistan, have expressed concerns about women’s rights under the extreme conservative rule of the Islamist Taliban leadership. The Taliban rulers have not been officially recognized as the country’s government by the international community.

Women’s rights were severely restricted during the Taliban’s first stint in power until they were driven from government by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

With reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, AFP, and AP

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Hekmatyar to UN: Leave Afghanistan’s seat empty if not given to Taliban

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Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

Ariana: IEA [Taliban] last year nominated their current head of their political office in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen, as Afghanistan’s UN ambassador, but the seat is still held by Naseer Ahmad Fayeq, representative of the previous Afghan government. “If the United Nations couldn’t hand over the seat to the current government, could it not let it be empty,” Hekmatyar said in his weekly Friday sermon. He said that Fayeq represents only himself. Click here to read more (external link).