Augsburger Allgemeine, 28 December 2022
This article discusses internal Taleban differences of opinion about the girls education and NGO women work ban, quoting AAN’s Thomas Ruttig (in German):
The co-founder of the independent think tank Afghanistan Analysts Network, Thomas Ruttig, has information that the Ministry of Health has previously announced “that medical staff are not affected by the bans, so women can continue to work.” Ruttig does not want to get call those diversions from official Taleban policy a ‘power struggle’ within the Taleban. But: “There is a core of ultra-conservative Taliban around the supreme spiritual leader in the country, Emir Achundsada, who issued the bans. They decid on the positions, and the more pragmatic Taliban have hardly expressed any public criticism so far. They must now. However, they could endanger their lives by doing so,” says Ruttig, who worked in Afghanistan for a long time, in an interview with our editors. (…)
“Resentment of the restrictive policies of the Taliban among the population is potentially very high. But only the bravest dare to protest,” explains Ruttig. In Kandahar, demonstrating students were “brutally beaten up.”
He also comments on the humanitarian situation:
“In Afghanistan we now have the onset of winter, there is a risk of famine again, which could only be prevented in winter 2020/21 with massive support from aid organizations,” warns Ruttig.
Thomas Ruttig reacts with incomprehension to the announcement by Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) that she is questioning humanitarian aid for the country in view of the restrictions on women in NGOs. “That would go against the humanitarian imperative. Even in countries that are governed by dictatorial rule, help must be provided when a humanitarian catastrophe threatens,” says Ruttig.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 21 Jan 2023
