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“Nothing is unlikely with the Taliban”: Women fear for their liberties

Taliban assures that women will live freely under their rule, but mass crowds flock to Kabul’s airport.

Afghans are fleeing their country after the Taliban have quickly advanced across Afghanistan.

US officials said that at least seven people died on Monday at the airport, as a thousand Afghans rushed to board US military aircrafts.

Image: Sajjad Hussain via AFP

Since the US troops withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban has emerged to reclaim control of the cities they had lost two decades ago.

During their rule between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban imposed strict rules on the lives of women. Hijabs were mandatory, and women were barred from work, education, and leaving home without a male relative.

However, in a recent interview with the BBC, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen asserted that this will not be repeated.

When pressed about reports that women are being turned away from university in Herat, Shaheen asserted, “the policy is that women can have access to education and to work“.

โ€œTheir right to education and work is there. We have a commitment to thatโ€, he said.

But as the Taliban have seized power of Kabul, pictures emerge of workers tearing down photos of women outside a beauty salon in the capital.

The pictures breached Sharia law which mandates face veils in certain contexts.

Speaking to VICE World News, journalist Masooma Bahar expressed her anxiety about the security of women’s liberties.

“I’m worried about them restricting womenโ€™s activities, and freedom of speech… Iโ€™m worried about the womenโ€ฆ who worked so hard and made progress, who have made achievements for the country and themselves,โ€ she explained.

Nothing is unlikely with the Taliban,โ€ said Zainab Hussaini, also speaking to VICE.

Despite the reassurances of Shaheen, Monday’s footage from the airport shows widespread panic among Afghans.

After two decades of occupation, many feel betrayed by the US, who left seemingly without the foresight of the Taliban’s capacity to seize control of Afghanistan within weeks.

As recently as July, US President Joe Biden asserted:

The Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is unlikely“.