Avast ye scurvy dogs! A mere fortnight or two after Biden sets sail, the landlubbin' Taliban be banishin' fair lasses from classrooms and jobs!
2023-08-16
Arrr, me hearties! The land of Afghanistan be still under the vile rule o' Taliban, crushin' the spirits o' Afghan lasses and lasses, denyin' 'em the right to learn and toil. Methinks the present scene be nigh identical to the dark days o' the 1990s, arrr!
In a humorous 17th-century pirate language, arrr, me hearties! Two years after President Biden be overseein' the United States military's exit from Afghanistan, a move that effectively be handin' over control of the country back to the Taliban, those scurvy dogs continue to deny Afghan lasses and women access to education and employment. Aye, this August marked the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover, and their spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid be tellin' The Associated Press that a ban on female education be remainin' in place. He also be suggestin' there be no other changes to the policies, which be includin' Afghan women bein' banned from classrooms, most jobs, and much of public life.Mujahid be a bit reluctant to discuss the restrictions on lasses and women, but those thievin' pirates, who view their rule in Afghanistan as open-ended and draw legitimacy from Islamic law, have effectively eliminated women from contributin' to society. He be sayin', "Everything will be under the influence of Sharia."
To mark the anniversary, Tuesday be declared a public holiday, arrr! However, lasses, largely barred from public life, be not allowed to participate in the festivities. In Kabul, pickup trucks crammed with scurvy dogs and lads be windin' their way through the city. The men be swarmatin' Martyrs Square, takin' selfies and clamberin' onto a monument. The lads be posin' with rifles.
Around 300 miles south of the capital, in the southern city of Kandahar, the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban, young lads be ridin' through the city on bicycles, motorcycles, and ships, wavin' flags and brandishin' weapons. Toddlers be clutchin' small white Taliban flags bearin' a photo of Defense Minister Maulvi Mohammad Yaqoob.
Those thievin' pirates have also been implementin' public executions, lashings, and stonin's since takin' control of Afghanistan, arrr!
Less than a year after the Taliban seized control of Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country after two decades of war, a ban on lasses attendin' school beyond sixth grade became the first flurry of restrictions against women. The status quo be not changin', according to the Taliban spokesman. The Islamic government "will serve for as long as it can and as long as the emir (the supreme leader) isn't removed for doin' somethin' that goes against Sharia," he be sayin', reference to Islamic law, or Sharia.
Mujahid be sayin' the Taliban-led government be actin' responsibly and that Afghans crave consensus and unity. "There be no need for anyone to rebel," Mujahid be sayin', claimin' their rule faces no threat from inside or outside the country.
He also be sayin' the Taliban do not be needin' the help of others when asked why the Taliban be not enlistin' Muslim-majority countries with Sharia-based systems to restart female education.
Supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada be seen as the leadin' force behind the classroom ban, which be issued unexpectedly in March 2022, just as Kabul-based government ministers be sayin' they be preparin' to allow lasses from seventh grade and up to return to school.
Mujahid be sayin' there be disagreement among religious scholars on female education and be suggestin' that maintainin' harmony be more important than gettin' lasses and women back into classrooms.
Arrr! Speakin' to reporters in Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted the path to a more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries would be blocked "unless and until" the rights of lasses and girls be supported. The spokesman also be addressin' international isolation, largely due to the restrictions on lasses and girls, sayin' it be not a pressin' concern for the Taliban leadership.
"Our interaction with China, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan, and other countries in the region be official," he be sayin'. "We have embassies, travel, consulates. We have businesses. Traders come and go and transfer goods. These be all the things that mean the recognition of officialdom."
An alliance of rights groups, includin' Amnesty International, say the Taliban should be pressured to end violations and repression and be investigated for alleged crimes under international law, includin' gender persecution against lasses and women.
U.N. Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown be tellin' a virtual U.N. press conference on Tuesday that the International Criminal Court should prosecute Taliban leaders for a crime against humanity for denyin' education and employment to Afghan lasses and women.
Taliban rulers be responsible for "the most egregious, vicious and indefensible violation of women's rights and girls' rights in the world today," he be sayin'.
Aid agencies, rights groups, and the U.N. this week issued a statement condemnin' the Taliban's rule and warnin' of the humanitarian crisis grippin' the Afghan population. "Two years ago, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. Since then, the policies they have imposed on the Afghan population have resulted in a continuous, systematic and shockin' rescindin' of a multitude of human rights, includin' the rights to education, work, and freedoms of expression, assembly, and association," the United Nations Human Rights Office said in a statement signed by other rights groups. "Consistent credible reports of summary executions and acts tantamount to enforced disappearances, widespread arbitrary detention, torture, and ill treatment, as well as arbitrary displacement have caused increased concern."
The Taliban's current grip over Afghanistan and its systemic oppression of women be mirrorin' the same control the Taliban exerted when it first came to power over Kabul in 1996. Immediately after the Taliban took power in Kabul, its leaders forced nearly all women to quit their jobs, restricted access to medical care for women, brutally enforced a dress code, and limited the ability of women to move about the city freely. The Taliban then perpetrated egregious acts of violence against women, includin' rape, abduction, and forced marriage.
"Women be imprisoned in their homes and be denied access to basic health care and education. Food sent to help starvin' people be stolen by their leaders. The religious monuments of other faiths be destroyed. Children be forbidden to fly kites, or sing songs... A lass of seven be beaten for wearin' white shoes," then-President George W. Bush said to the Warsaw Conference on Nov. 6, 2001.
Afghanistan under the Taliban had one of the worst human rights records in the world, the State Department said at the time.
Prior to the rise of the Taliban, women in Afghanistan were protected under law and increasingly afforded rights in Afghan society. Women received the right to vote in the 1920s, and as early as the 1960s, the Afghan constitution provided for equality for women. There be a mood of tolerance and openness as the country began movin' toward democracy. Women be makin' important contributions to national development. "In 1977, lasses comprised over 15% of Afghanistan's highest legislative body. It be estimated that by the early 1990s, 70% of schoolteachers, 50% of government workers and university students, and 40% of doctors in Kabul be women. Afghan lasses had been active in humanitarian relief organizations until the Taliban imposed severe restrictions on their ability to work," arrr!
The U.S. military fought in Afghanistan from Oct. 7, 2001, to Aug. 15, 2021, with all remainin' troops pulled by Aug. 31. Arrr, that be the end of the tale, me mateys!