They shone through their absence, as was ultimately expected of women at the first major Taliban rally in Afghanistan since seizing power. It was not considered necessary for them to be present as they are represented by their male relatives.
From male relatives τους εwere represented finally in Taliban assembly in Afghanistan the women after it was judged that their presence “was not necessary”.
The rally, the largest since the Taliban took power again, comes a week after a devastating earthquake shook the southeastern part of the country, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.
Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhunda today called on the world to stop “interfering” in Afghan affairs, noting that enforcing Islamic law is the key to success for his country.
Akhunda, who has never been videotaped or photographed in public since taking power in August and lives in solitary confinement in the southern Taliban city of Kandahar, spoke to a gathering of religious leaders and elders in Kabul. Afghan tribes, convened by the Taliban to consolidate their power.
“They tell us, ‘Why don’t you do this, why don’t you do the other? Why do people interfere in our affairs? We will not take orders from anyone in the world.
“We worship only Almighty Allah,” he said in an hour-long speech broadcast on the state radio network.
More than 3,000 religious and tribal leaders have been meeting in the Afghan capital since Thursday for a three-day grand council. The first speeches were mainly calling for unity in support of the Taliban.
The media, which was not allowed access to the assembly, have been speculating for days about a possible participation of Akhundzada in it. To date, only his recorded statements have been made public since last August, without even being able to verify their authenticity from an independent source.
Although he stays out of the limelight, this mullah, who specializes in judicial and religious matters and is believed to be in his 70s, leads the iron fist of the Islamist movement, which he took the reins in 2016, according to analysts, and bears the title of “Commander of the Faithful”.
He also said that the success of the Taliban would depend on their ability to defeat “corruption, selfishness, tyranny, nationalism and nepotism”, which he described as “successive governments” over the past two decades. in power in Afghanistan, following the Taliban’s previous ouster from 1996 to 2001.
No woman
To achieve this, “now is the time to implement Sharia (Islamic law),” he said, urging the ulema to guide the authorities on the issue.
“If there is Sharia, we have security, freedom, an Islamic system and everything we need,” he said.
No woman has been allowed to attend this assembly. The Taliban considered their presence unnecessary, as they were represented by male relatives.
A Taliban source told AFP earlier this week that participants would be allowed to criticize the Islamist movement and that thorny issues, such as girls’ education, a topic of discussion within the movement, would be on the assembly’s agenda.
In late March, the Taliban banned girls from attending secondary school, closing schools just hours after their long-reopened reopening. The order for this unexpected overthrow was given by Akhundza himself, according to several sources within the Islamist movement.
The top Taliban leader did not address the issue in his speech, focusing mainly on his call to the faithful to respect Islamic principles.
Endure the trials
The Taliban have largely reverted to the extremely strict interpretation of Islam, which marked their first takeover, severely restricting women’s rights.
The Islamist movement has almost completely excluded them from public sector jobs, restricted their right to free movement, and barred girls from accessing secondary education. Women can also no longer go out in public without wearing a burqa.
In addition, the Taliban banned non-religious music, the appearance of faces in advertisements, the airing of movies or series showing women not wearing Islamic headscarves, and required men to wear traditional clothing and grow beards.
Ahunja warned his audience today that non-Muslim nations would never accept a genuine Islamic state and therefore asked him to be prepared to face many trials.
“There can be no reconciliation between Islam and the infidels (infidels). This has never happened, neither in the past nor now,” he said.
“You have to fight, endure the trials (…) Today’s people will not easily accept that you are applying the Islamic system and will not allow it,” he said.
The Taliban had taken strong security measures to guard their assembly. However, yesterday two armed men managed to approach the place where it was being held, at the Kabul University of Technology, before shooting them.
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