AFGHANISTAN: “It’s a very temporary procedure,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said while asking working women in Afghanistan to stay at home until a proper security system is in place to ensure their safety.
Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters in Kabul on Tuesday the Taliban were working on procedures for female government workers to return to their jobs but that for now, they should stay home for “security” reasons.
This comes amid fears that the Taliban might curtail the freedom of women in the country – as they did in their previous stint.
Even though the group has assured that this time they would not restrict women from working or deny girls the right to education and ensure their freedom under the Sharia law, women in Afghanistan remain apprehensive.
The United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has said the Taliban treatment of women and girls would be “a fundamental red line”.
During the Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule, women could not work, had to cover their face and be accompanied by a male relative if they wanted to venture out of their homes.
Taliban spokespeople Zabihullah Mujahid have sought to reassure Afghans that they were not out for revenge and that they would allow women to work, as long as their jobs were consistent with Islamic law.
But reports of house-to-house searches, women being forced from jobs and reprisals against former security officials and ethnic minorities have made people wary.
The Taliban have vowed to investigate reported abuses.
– INDIA TODAY
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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