'Not afraid': Kabul school girl as Taliban celebrate 'complete independence' after US troops departure
The Taliban captured power in mid-August after ousting the Western-backed government of Ashraf Ghani and have vowed to rule differently compared to their previous stint.
Several children rushed to the school in Kabul on Tuesday even as the Taliban symbolically walked across the runway of the airport in the capital of Afghanistan, marking their victory after the withdrawal of US troops. “I am not afraid of the Taliban. Why should I be?” Masooda, a class 5 student of a private school in Kabul, told the Associated Press.
The Taliban have said students will be segregated by sex, which has anyway been a practice in many schools for older students across Afghanistan. On Sunday, the Taliban's acting higher education minister said Afghan women will be allowed to study at university but there would be a ban on mixed classes under their rule.
"The... people of Afghanistan will continue their higher education in the light of Sharia law in safety without being in a mixed male and female environment," Abdul Baqi Haqqani, the Taliban's acting minister for higher education, said. The Taliban want to "create a reasonable and Islamic curriculum that is in line with our Islamic, national and historical values and, on the other hand, be able to compete with other countries", Haqqani said.
Also read | Taliban pin letters with chilling 'surrender or die' message in cities: Report
Activists and women have expressed apprehension over the Taliban's assurances that they will respect progress made in women's rights, but only according to their strict interpretation of Islamic law. The hardline Islamist group captured power in mid-August after ousting the Western-backed government of Ashraf Ghani and have vowed to rule differently compared to their previous stint. Girls and women were banned from education and they were not allowed to step out of their homes without a male relative, even if it was a boy. Anyone who digressed was handed down brutal punishments-- from public beatings to stoning to death for adultery.
'Everything is safe', says Taliban official
Taliban fighters took control of the Kabul airport, which witnessed scenes of chaos, desperation and a suicide bombing, on Tuesday following the withdrawal of the last US troops, ending 20 years of war, and several reports said there was celebratory gunfire across the Afghan capital. Taliban fighters draped their group's white flags over barriers at the airport and others guarded the civilian side of the airfield. “The world should have learned its lesson and this is the enjoyable moment of victory," Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a live stream.
Also read | 'Full independence', 'historic moments': Taliban after US troops leave
Mujahid also addressed the gathered members of the insurgents' elite Badri unit at the airport. “I hope you are very cautious in dealing with the nation," he said. “Our nation has suffered war and invasion and the people do not have more tolerance.”
“Afghanistan is finally free," Hekmatullah Wasiq, another Taliban official, was quoted as saying by AP. "The military and civilian side are with us and in control. Hopefully, we will be announcing our Cabinet. Everything is peaceful. Everything is safe.”
Also read | This army general is the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan
Wasiq also asked people to return to work and reiterated the Taliban pledge offering a general amnesty. “People have to be patient. Slowly we will get everything back to normal. It will take time.”
(With agency inputs)