This is the latest in a series of conversations I have been having with an Afghan friend about life under the Taliban. I am withholding his identity for his safety.
Dear David:
Last week, three Taliban representatives came to our office and held a meeting. One of them tried to persuade us not to shave our beards by reciting verses from the Quran and hadiths. Then a second man was more blunt. "In short, I will say that anyone who does not grow a beard and does not wear a hat will be dismissed from duty. There is no place for (that) here."
In Afghanistan, before you can get a government job you have to pass a standardized test. But the Minister of Higher Education said in a news conference that fighters for the Taliban don’t need to take the test, because they are automatically qualified based on their experience in battle.
Recently, I listened to the audio recording of one of the Taliban commanders who is said to be one of the close associates of the top Taliban leader. He said that the main enemy of Islam and Afghanistan is a modern school system. In the schools, he said, topics of blasphemy are taught and the culture of blasphemy is promoted.
Ever since the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021, they have been trying to force their extremist ideas on the culture, lifestyle, and political and religious beliefs of the Afghan people. Women have been deprived of all their rights, ethnic minorities have been excluded from participating in the government, and people are being persecuted under the pretext of “forbidding evil.”
In response, the international community and the United States have tried to convince the Taliban through dialogue and soft policies to respect human rights and allow women to study and work. But history has proven that the Taliban do not respond to dialogue and logic, so these efforts to convince them will prove to be futile.
The Taliban are not open to debate. The rest of the world needs to develop new ways to force them to respect our human rights or these types of abuses – both small and large – will continue.
LINKS:
The Taliban Are Losing Some of Their Cash Cows —The U.S. and U.N. are halting aid as the Taliban ratchet up their atrocities. (FP)
Deadly ‘suicide’ blast outside Afghan foreign ministry in Kabul (Al Jazeera)
Taliban hard-liners consolidate control with crackdown on women (WP)
FAA system restored after outage that halted all domestic flight departures in the U.S. (NBC)
Biden Lawyers Found Classified Material at His Former Office (NYT)
Biden and his legal team don’t know what’s in classified documents found in his private office, sources say (CNN)
Rain to persist as storm weary Californians face evacuations (AP)
Why California is getting slammed with storm after storm (SFGate)
Flash flood warning in San Francisco after Montecito and Santa Barbara evacuations (Independent)
California is getting drenched. So why can't it save water for the drought? (NPR)
The House of Representatives adopted a package of internal rules that give right-wing hardliners more leverage over the chamber's newly elected Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy. (Reuters)
Here’s why the House GOP made defunding the IRS its first priority (Yahoo)
Biden Administration Plans to Ease Rules for Income-Based Student-Loan Forgiveness (WSJ)
Trump's Attorneys Scramble to Keep His Testimony Private (Newsweek)
Ron DeSantis Is Imposing Political Control on Schools (New York)
Republicans Signal Cuts To Social Security, Medicare With New House Majority (HuffPost)
At least 17 killed in Peru as anti-government protests intensify (Financial Times)
Brazil’s ‘January 6 Moment’ Is a Warning (Atlantic)
What Drove a Mass Attack on Brazil’s Capital? Mass Delusion. (NYT)
America’s Trumpist export to Brazil: Election denialism (WP)
The most chilling warning for Americans from Brazil’s version of January 6 (CNN)
Brazil’s riot puts spotlight on close ties between Bolsonaro and Trump (WP)
Newly elected GOP Rep. George Santos (N.Y.), who has come under fire for lying about his work and education history, is now being accused of extensive campaign finance violations. A complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission alleges he used his 2022 campaign funds to cover personal needs, lied about how his campaign spent money and hid the origin of those funds. [HuffPost]
Russian troops have stepped up an assault on the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of attacks led by mercenary forces, officials in Kyiv said. (Reuters)
Ukraine war: Russia controls most of destroyed salt mine town, Soledar, says UK (BBC)
U.S. involvement in war grows with training of Ukrainian troops in Okla. (WP)
Russian artillery fire down nearly 75%, US officials say, in latest sign of struggles for Moscow (CNN)
Satellite images show crowds at China’s crematoriums as covid surges (WP)
6-Year-Old Brought Gun From Home in Newport News School Shooting, Police Say (NYT)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field during a game in Cincinnati last week, has been released from the hospital and flown to Buffalo, with his doctors saying he is "doing well." [AP]
Cherokee tribes turn to K Street to fulfill a 187-year-old promise for a seat in Congress (Politico)
This Technique Is Revealing a Hidden World of Biology We've Never Seen Before (ScienceAlert)
Zone of Uncertainty Enables the Brain to Rapidly Form New Memories (Neuroscience News)
Forest lizards have genetically morphed to survive life in the city, researchers say (NPR)
Wordle editor Tracy Bennett reveals what words get the most complaints (Today)
High School Teaches Co-Parenting Skills By Having Students Fight Over Who Gets Egg For Weekend (The Onion)
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