Rector: Taliban must change their attitude towards women

Jakarta, UIN News Online – The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan and capturing all major cities in a matter of days resulting in global anxiety. Attention is also focused on the safety of Indonesian citizens who have not been registered with the Indonesian Embassy in Kabul.

Rector of UIN Jakarta Amany Lubis expressed her concern over what happened recently in Afghanistan, especially for the fate of women after the Taliban took power.

“It is feared that the condition of Afghan women is getting worse. The Taliban ideology says that women should not appear in the public domain,” said Amany when she spoke on Rosi's program entitled “Taliban Kuasai Afghanistan, Haruskah Kita Cemas?” which aired on Kompas TV, Friday (08/19/2021).

In addition to Retctor Amany, this talk show  also invited several other speakers, they are Dhyana Paramita (former UN Staff in Kabul, Afghanistan), Abdul Kadir Jailani (Director General of Asia Pacific-Africa Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Nadirsya Hosen (Lecturer of the Faculty of Law at Monash University Australia), Ismail Fajri Alatas ( Lecturer in Middle East and Islamic Studies at New York University), and Sawazar Muhammad Musa (a local television journalist in Afghanistan who fled to Indonesia).

Amany said, the Taliban must vow to respect women’s right. She feels a little optimistic about the change in attitude from the previous government under Ashraf Gani, who is commited to women’s right and women empowerment.

“I hope that children and women will get education and work opportunities in public domains,” said Rector.

Dhyana Paramita also expressed his opinion that the Taliban's change in political attitudes towards women was only temporary and would not change drastically, such as by opening up access for women to work and voice their opinions.

Meanwhile, Abdul Kadir Jailani said that negotiations were still taking place between Afghan community leaders and the outcome was not yet known. As the international community hopes for inclusive governance.

Sawazar Muhammad Musa, described that most of them (Taliban, ed) are uneducated. This is a big problem for the Afghan government.

“I hope the Taliban turn out to actually keep their promise. But I don't want to believe too much because 80 percent of them are uneducated,” he said.

On the same occasion, Ismail Fajri Alatas explained that the current situation forces the Taliban to be pragmatic and not moderate. According to Fajri, if the Taliban wants to rule Afghanistan and want to create stability in the country, they must be able to build cooperation with existing institutions. That's why the Taliban must be serious about realizing their promises.

“The impact of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan also affects the lives of women in the country,” he said. (usa/ns/lsn)