Why are the Taliban stripping away so many of Afghan women’s hard-won freedoms?
That may seem like a facetious question. When the Taliban ruled the country in the 1990s, after all, their regime was known for having some of the world’s harshest restrictions on women. The group still adheres to a fundamentalist vision of Islamic society.
Also read | 'Times have changed': Pictures of Afghan women before Taliban rule go viral
Why the Taliban's repression of women may be more tactical than ideological bdnews24.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bdnews24.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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As the Taliban make rapid battlefield gains ahead of the US military pullout from Afghanistan, the question of who stays and who goes is once again at the top of foreign envoys agendas.
The final warning on fine notepaper was delivered to me in the depth of a harsh Kabul winter at the peak of a Cold War conflict. I must advise you that you should leave Afghanistan without delay while normal flights are still available, advised the British chargé d affaires.
Eleven days later, on a snowy 30 January 1989, we watched the US chargé d affaires solemnly lower the stars and stripes in a simple ceremony freighted with political meaning. The last Soviet troops were pulling out within weeks, ending their disastrous decade-long Afghan engagement. An exodus of Western missions was meant to rattle the beleaguered Moscow-backed government.
Afghanistan's Next Chapter: What Happens as U.S. Troops Leave? | United States Institute of Peace usip.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from usip.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.