After takeover, the Taliban 2.0 has started its rule in Afghanistan. The world is waiting with bated breath for their latest pronouncements on public and moral codes of conduct for citizens. It is reported that the Taliban have issued their first fatwa for women – a set of rules governing moral, religious and public conduct. It is said that they will soon issue another set of rules for men, too.
Predictably, in the fatwa for women, the pride of place is adorned by burqa – full-body veil. No body part of a woman should be visible when she is outside the four walls of her house. A woman who ventures out without two male guardians may invite severe punishments, including death. According to the new rules, women are forbidden from painting their nails. It is also reported that the Taliban’s religious police have cut the fingers of a girl who had applied paint on her nails. Another girl was dragged out of her house and shot for not wearing a burqa. The iconic picture of wailing Afghan teenage girls pleading with American soldiers not to leave Afghanistan will continue to haunt the humanity’s conscience for long.
I don’t propose to recount a benumbing litany of brutalities committed the bearded barbarians on women, children and men. As the Taliban dig in their heels, they pose a threat not only to the Afghans but to the entire humanity. The world will be forced to take note of it today or tomorrow, as the spillover effect will soon be felt. The international and multi-lateral organizations can’t turn a blind eye to the apocalyptic developments happening in Afghanistan and leave the people at the mercy of a band of Islamic radicals.
Taken for a ride by Pakistan, the US’s unceremonious exit speaks volumes of its hypocrisy and declining clout in the emerging world order. As the chorus for his impeachment (some demand court martial as he is supreme commander of US Armed Forces) grows louder at home, US President Joe Biden’s popularity has touched rock-bottom. Today, he stands as the embodiment of US’s failures in Afghanistan and also of the liberal world order.
In India, too, the Left-Liberals seem to be rejoicing the victory of Taliban. Some quarters have insisted that ‘this time Taliban would be different’, though there are no signs of the tiger changing its stripes anytime soon. They advocate that Bharat should legitimize Taliban the earliest and argue that the government had failed in assessing the situation. However, going by the indication, the government is in no hurry to legitimize the Taliban.
Another important aspect that emerged from the Afghanistan imbroglio is that the government’s stance on Citizenship Amendment Act stands vindicated. Images of Sikhs alighting flights at Delhi airport carrying Guru Grantsahib on their heads will remain etched in the minds of people for long. Some Sikh leaders who had rubbed shoulders with Shaheenbag protesters during anti-CAA protests, alleging that the legislation was discriminatory, have made a U-turn. This might cast a shadow over the carefully crafted campaign against CAA.
Another sad part is that members of Sikh and Hindu communities who have been part the Afghan society for centuries had to flee the country, leaving their possessions back in the war-torn country. This is a warning signal for all secular democracies in the world.
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