The 29th of February 2020 the US government signed the Doha Agreement with the Taliban1, with the alleged objective of bringing peace to Afghanistan. The Taliban did not finally respect the entirety of said agreement, making the previous afghan government flee and taking absolute power in the Asian country.
After the shameful runaway, much alike that of Saigon in the 70s, protagonized by the western powers, it was stated the fear unleashed over the afghan population that encouraged them to run away in terror through every possible border2. Despite that the Taliban promised general amnesty3 and respect for women’s rights, the population did not quite believe it and, after some weeks, it has been shown it was only propaganda4.
The famous resistance at the Panjshir Valley has been smashed in the last weeks5. This leaves Aghanistan facing two harsh realities: accepting that the Taliban are here to stay and that it is time to fight for basic rights with them in front. The new government announced by the Taliban is a 100% composed by men. Only a small percentage are not part of the Pastun ethnicity (the taliban are composed mostly by this ethnic group). Even though they keep a low profile for the international community, repression keeps going outside the reach of Kabul’s cameras6, like when using as a pretext the lack of infrastructure, they prevent girls from attending secondary school7.
According to a recent analysis by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), next year the GDP could fall from a 10% to a 13% bringing Afghanistan to the brink of universal poverty, escalating the poverty rate to a 97%. In front of this situation states must assume their responsability, by not giving legitimacy to the new government while it does not support aid programs that seek to fight poverty and enables humanitarian corridors for the refugees.
The definitive solution for Afghanistan, in words of an activist of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), is: “a secular and democratic country”8 and as citizens we must support this future solution without forgetting the urgency of the present, pressing our governments to take action and uphold aid programs in various areas.
1 https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Agreement-For-Bringing-Peace-to-Afghanistan-02.29.20.pdf 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgjPPLeLNdM&t=12s 3 https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/mundo/los-talibanes-declaran-una-amnistia-general-tras-conquistar-afganistan/10001-4610168 4 https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-58608977 5 https://www.clarin.com/mundo/valle-panjshir-taliban-dicen-controlar-afganistan-resistencia-niega_0_eaLYhweSj.html 6 https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/mundo/la-resistencia-denuncia-el-desplazamiento-de-miles-afganos-en-panjshir/10001-4626802 7 https://www.antena3.com/noticias/mundo/gobierno-talibanes-estara-compuesto-solo-hombres_202109216149d8216f9db70001d26877.html 8 https://latinta.com.ar/2021/08/rawa-afganistan-gobierno/
Become Interested: