Afganistán

After the Pakistani air strikes in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province | Photo Credit: AFP

MundoOriente Próximo,

On December 27, 2024, the Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that 383 officers and soldiers in the Pakistani security forces had lost their lives in counter-terrorism operations during 2024. He also claimed that 925 terrorists and Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists had been eliminated in approximately 60,000 intelligence-based operations. Giving a detailed account of Pakistan’s generosity towards Afghanistan, he nonetheless asserted that Pakistan would not allow its citizens to be targeted by the TTP, which is alleged to enjoy safe haven in Afghanistan. It is, however, ironic given that Pakistan has itself, for long, provided logistical, military and moral support to the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network, the two formerly insurgent-cum-terrorist groups now leading the outcaste regime in Kabul, during their fight against the West-backed Afghan government and American security forces.…  Seguir leyendo »

Burqa-clad Afghan women rest along a roadside in Kandahar on Dec. 28. (Sanaullah Seiam/AFP)

MundoOriente Próximo,

This past December marked two years since women could attend college in Afghanistan. March will mark three years since girls could go to school past sixth grade. And only a few weeks ago, the Taliban barred women from studying to become midwives or nurses.

For a long time, Afghanistan was the country with the highest rate of maternal mortality. That’s no longer the case — that awful distinction is now held by South Sudan. But Afghanistan’s rate remains the highest of any nation outside Africa. And that’s only on the national level. Certain remote regions of Afghanistan see a maternal mortality rate that’s much higher than the national one, particularly regions such as Badakhshan in the northeast.…  Seguir leyendo »

America, Afghanistan and the Price of Self-Delusion

MundoOriente Próximo

The collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021, revealed what little American lives and money had purchased over 20 years there. It also laid bare a gaping disconnect between reality and what senior U.S. officials had been telling Americans for decades: that success was just around the corner.

As the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction since 2012, my staff and I have audited and investigated U.S. programs and spending to rebuild Afghanistan — a mission that, it was hoped, would turn the theocratic, tribal-based “Graveyard of Empires” into a modern liberal democracy.

In hundreds of reports over the last 12 years, we have detailed a long list of systemic problems: The U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

The flag adopted by Syria's new rulers, Umayyad Square, Damascus, December 2024 Ammar Awad / Reuters

MundoOriente Próximo,

Syria’s new leaders have few models to follow in their quest to win international recognition. No guidebooks exist on how to run a government for groups operating under terrorist designations—and there is no clear set of rules for foreign governments on how to bring a former al Qaeda affiliate in from the cold. But Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that dislodged Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in early December, and outside governments alike can learn from a cautionary precedent: the Taliban’s 2021 return to power in Afghanistan.

After the Taliban seized Kabul, Afghanistan staggered under the weight of sanctions and other kinds of economic and diplomatic isolation.…  Seguir leyendo »

Tres mujeres venden prensas usadas en un mercado de Herat, el pasado 26 de septiembre.Mohsen Karimi (Afp / Getty Image

MundoOriente Próximo

Cerca del Mercado Avícola de Kabul, un antiquísimo bazar donde se venden tanto aves de corral y de pelea como pájaros cantores, hay un obelisco de seis metros de altura rematado en un puño apretado. Se erigió en honor a Farkhunda Malikzada, una joven a la que una turba exaltada de hombres apaleó y quemó viva en 2015, después de que la acusaran falsamente de quemar un Corán.

La cuestión de los derechos de la mujer es quizá el mayor asunto pendiente en el nuevo Afganistán. Después de llegar al poder, el liderazgo talibán anunció que las chicas de hasta sexto curso podían reanudar su educación, pero por lo general las jóvenes de mayor edad tendrían que esperar a que se dieran las “condiciones” adecuadas.…  Seguir leyendo »

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid arrives to attend a press conference in Kabul on July 3, following the third Doha meeting. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images

MundoOriente Próximo

With Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, the United States and the West face renewed opportunities and challenges in their approach to Afghanistan. His former envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, saw the election as an opening to fully implement the Doha Agreement, moving toward normalized relations, while the Taliban themselves have urged Trump for a “new chapter” in U.S.-Afghan relations.

Yet Trump’s new national security advisor, Mike Waltz, a decorated Afghanistan veteran, criticized the previous agreement, arguing that Washington had “unconditionally surrendered” and called for renewed U.S. fighting against the Taliban during the 2021 withdrawal. As the U.S. president who brokered the Doha Agreement, which set the stage for the complete withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan—and who once engaged in the controversial overture of inviting the Taliban to Camp David—Trump in his second term has a unique opportunity to build credibility with the Taliban to avoid past mistakes.…  Seguir leyendo »

‘Intolerance is writ large in every article of a draconian law that seeks to convert Afghanistan into an open-air prison’ | Photo Credit: AFP

MundoOriente Próximo,

In August this year, the Taliban formally codified their totalitarianism in a 35-article enactment titled the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Law which, among other barbarities, enshrines misogyny — the core tenet of the extremist group’s ideology.

The mind behind this atrocity is the “supreme leader” who sententiously calls himself Amir al-Mu’minin Sheikh al-Quran and Hadith Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada. The intolerance of his regime is writ large in every article of the draconian law that seeks to convert Afghanistan into an open-air prison.

Antithesis of mercy

In the English translation provided by the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), the law begins: “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful” when in reality it is the exact antithesis of the Koran’s beneficence and mercy embodied in its most definitive declaration on human liberty, laa ikraaha fid’deen (there shall be no compulsion in Islam).…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

Hace más de tres años que el presidente Biden ordenó, en agosto de 2021, la retirada de Afganistán y la correspondiente repatriación de las tropas de la OTAN. De 2001 a 2021, en un período de 20 años, se produjeron más de cien mil muertos, con el resultado final de la victoria de los talibanes y la salida precipitada del aeropuerto de Kabul.

Afganistán empezó a interesar en el siglo XIX, a las potencias imperiales europeas, (singularmente británicos y rusos), en los que Rawlison llamó 'el Gran Juego', o la definición de zonas de influencia en el Asia central. Los rusos avanzaban por el norte y la Gran Bretaña aspiraba al control del Indostán e Irán.…  Seguir leyendo »

Un talibán monta guardia mientras unas mujeres esperan para recibir raciones de comida distribuidas por un grupo de ayuda humanitaria en Kabul, Afganistán, en mayo de 2023.Ebrahim Noroozi (AP/LAPRESSE)

MundoOriente Próximo,

Los derechos humanos de las mujeres y de las niñas en Afganistán han estado bajo constante y cruel asedio por el Gobierno de facto de los talibanes. En semanas recientes, sin embargo, las restricciones han tomado proporciones insólitas: la Ley para la Propagación de la Virtud y la Prevención del Vicio, expedida en agosto de 2024 —la ley de moralidad―, prohíbe a las mujeres hablar en público por considerar que la voz femenina solo debe expresarse en un entorno íntimo, e incluso les impide cantar públicamente.

Cuando se lee esta noticia en la prensa, la primera impresión es que podría tratarse de una noticia falsa por lo absurdo y extremo que resulta pensar en vetar una expresión tan normal y propia de la esencia y dignidad humana, además de un derecho fundamental.…  Seguir leyendo »

Los talibanes han ido demasiado lejos

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

Desde que los talibanes retomaron el control de Afganistán en 2021 con la promesa de que esta vez serían más moderados, han jugado al engaño.

El gobierno talibán ha promulgado un decreto tras otro, despojando a más y más mujeres y niñas de sus derechos a la educación, el empleo, la justicia, la libertad de expresión y de movimiento, y ha criminalizado cada vez más su existencia fuera del hogar. El mes pasado, los dirigentes talibanes fueron aún más lejos, al publicar normas que, entre otras restricciones, prohíben por ley que la voz de una mujer sea escuchada por desconocidos varones en público.…  Seguir leyendo »

Afghan women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul on May 23, 2023. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

MundoOriente Próximo

Three years have passed since the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the takeover of the country by the Taliban. The botched exit wasn’t merely a logistical disaster but a greater failure of strategic vision: Little was done to ensure that the investments of more than 2 trillion dollars and tens of thousands of lives over 20 years to build a stable, democratic Afghanistan were safeguarded.

Forty million Afghans were simply abandoned to an uncertain future — and millions have since fled the country as a result. Years of hard-won progress have been undone as women’s roles in Afghan society, media and politics have been diminished.…  Seguir leyendo »

Afghan women protest against the closure of beauty salons, in July 2023. The Taliban regime's restriction of women's fundamental rights has since worsened, notably covering the right to education and work, freedom of movement, the right to read or sing. Photo: © AFP

MundoOriente Próximo, , ,

With the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, following decades of international military intervention and peace negotiations, numerous draconian restrictions were imposed on women. These included bans on secondary and higher education, prohibitions on most forms of employment, and severe limitations on freedom of movement, often requiring women to be accompanied by male guardians when leaving their homes. Under the control of the Taliban, Afghan women have been deprived of their most basic human rights and freedoms. On August 21, a new law imposed additional restrictions, including on their right to sing, read poetry or read in public.

While boys and men have also faced oppression under Taliban rule for failing to conform to the official line, women continue to bear the brunt.…  Seguir leyendo »

Hay que darles a las niñas afganas la educación que exigen

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

Tres años después del regreso de los talibán al poder, y con el mundo distraído por otras crisis, Afganistán rara vez llega a los titulares globales. Pero a no equivocarse: las condiciones en el país siguen deteriorándose, con consecuencias devastadoras para los afganos de a pie, especialmente las niñas y las mujeres.

Afganistán salió de décadas de guerras por poderes como uno de los países más pobres del mundo, situación que el régimen talibán no ha hecho más que exacerbar: millones de afganos no saben dónde obtendrán su próxima comida y la economía prácticamente ha colapsado. Asimismo, los líderes religiosos de los talibán siguen violando los derechos humanos a través de lo que las Naciones Unidas describe como un “sistema institucionalizado de opresión basada en el género”.…  Seguir leyendo »

Taliban security personnel ride atop a military vehicle in Kabul on Aug. 14. Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images

MundoOriente PróximoInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional,

Earlier this month, three of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stops were canceled in Austria after officials announced that they had arrested two men accused of plotting a terrorist attack focused on the singer’s stadium shows. One of the men was a 19-year-old Austrian citizen who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State online. There have been other recent attacks and plots targeting Western nations including the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany, as well as Pakistan, India, Iran, and Russia.

The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has undoubtedly emboldened existing militant groups, such as al Qaeda, the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), Hamas, and others.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Olympics Should Stand With Afghanistan’s Women Athletes

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

When the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, one of its first actions was to bar women and girls from participating in sports publicly. It came as no surprise to me, one of Afghanistan’s first two female Olympians.

As a judo practitioner, I too have been forbidden to compete in my country. My life has been threatened by religious extremists and those who believe the country should adhere to strict Shariah law. Female athletes in Afghanistan today face similar threats from the Taliban, including physical abuse and raids on their homes.

What has been more surprising is the sports world’s lack of support for the brave women and girls who, unlike me, have not been able to flee the country.…  Seguir leyendo »

When It Comes to Women’s Rights, Do Not Appease the Taliban

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

In May 2022, nine months after the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan, I visited a girls’ secondary school that was still open in the north in spite of a ban on education for girls above sixth grade. Communities in the area, which has a long history of valuing education, had refused to comply. I met with a group of 11th-grade math students who told me about their hopes for the future. “I don’t want to end up trapped at home and condemned to a domestic life”, one female student told me. “I want to finish school and become a teacher so that I can help my family and others”.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Taliban fighter stands guard as women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul on May 23. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

MundoOriente Próximo,

Afghan women had little to celebrate on International Women’s Day this year. No school. No work. No parks. No travel without a male chaperone. No health care without a female provider. No divorce. No justice.

Afghan women and girls have been largely erased from society as a result of the systematic discrimination by the Taliban since they took control of Afghanistan in 2021. The regime’s policy — unprecedented in its severity — is nothing less than “gender apartheid”, and that’s what we should call it.

“Apartheid”, the Afrikaans word for “apartness” that lay behind the methodical oppression of South Africa’s Black majority, is recognized as a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.…  Seguir leyendo »

A woman walking in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 2022. Ali Khara / Reuters

MundoOriente Próximo,

A human rights calamity is unfolding in Afghanistan. Since retaking power in mid-2021, the Taliban have implemented more extreme policies against women than any other regime in the world. Taliban leaders have issued over 90 edicts limiting women’s rights: they have banned women and girls from attending university or school beyond the sixth grade, restricted their access to health care, prohibited them from leaving home without a male guardian, and revoked many of their social and legal protections. Every new restriction on Afghan women strengthens the Taliban’s dictatorial grip on the entire Afghan population and feeds extremism in a society already occupied by dozens of terrorist groups.…  Seguir leyendo »

Afghan women wait to receive aid packages which include food, clothes, and sanitary materials and are distributed by a local charity foundation in Herat on January 15, 2024. Mohsen Karimi / AFP

MundoOriente Próximo

Afghanistan sank deeper into isolation in 2023 as Western donors slashed aid budgets, partly in revulsion at the Taliban regime’s oppression of women and girls, while maintaining sanctions and other forms of economic pressure. The country’s biggest trading partner, Pakistan, put up commercial barriers as Islamabad turned against its former Taliban protégés in a dispute over anti-Pakistan militants becoming more violent in the borderlands. It also joined Iran in kicking out hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees, sending them back to impoverished Afghanistan. Left with little help, the Taliban pushed ahead with self-financed infrastructure projects, took stern anti-corruption measures, stabilised the national currency and enhanced customs revenues.…  Seguir leyendo »

In the new Afghanistan, it’s sell your daughter or starve

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

Their names are Khoshbakht, Saliha, Fawzia, Benazir, Farzana and Nazia — Afghan girls ages 8 to 10 who have been sold into marriage. Desperation forced their parents to thrust them into brutal adulthood. In Shahrak-e-Sabz, a settlement of makeshift mud-brick homes and tents for the displaced in Herat province that we visited last month, our researchers counted 118 girls who had been sold as child brides, and 116 families with girls waiting for buyers. This amounts to 40 percent of families surveyed, even though the Taliban decreed in late 2021 that women should not be considered “property” and must consent to marriage.…  Seguir leyendo »