Afghanistan | The Taliban confirmed in their rigorous vision of religion

This assembly, reserved for men and which began on Thursday, had been convened by the Taliban in order to consolidate their regime.

Participants were allowed to criticize the regime and thorny issues, such as girls’ education, a subject of debate within the movement itself, would be on the agenda, officials had assured. But the final declaration delivered on Saturday only repeated the doctrine of the Taliban.

The media was barred but many speeches were broadcast on state radio, including that of the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, who has not been filmed or photographed in public since their return to power in August 2021.

The text calls for allegiance to Hibatullah Akhundzada, loyalty to the Taliban and full acceptance of Sharia as the basic principle of power.

“By the grace of God, the Islamic system has come to reign in Afghanistan,” the statement said.

“Not only do we strongly support it, but we will also defend it. We consider it to be the national and religious duty of the whole nation,” the text adds.

Since their return to power, the Taliban have largely returned to the ultra-rigorous interpretation of Islam that marked their first spell in power (1996-2001), severely restricting women’s rights.

They almost completely barred them from public employment, restricted their right to travel, and barred girls from attending secondary schools. Women were required to wear full veils, covering their faces, for any outings in public.

They also banned non-religious music, the representation of human faces in advertisements, the broadcasting on television of films or series showing unveiled women, and asked men to wear traditional clothing and to grow beards. .

“Systemic oppression” on women

Saturday’s statement makes no mention of girls’ education, but calls on the government to pay “special attention” to modern education, justice and minority rights, all “in light of Islamic law. “.

According to the text, the new government has eradicated corruption and brought security to the whole country.

The Islamic State jihadist group, which has claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks in Afghanistan in recent months, also claimed responsibility for an attack Thursday against the gathering of clerics, by two gunmen who were shot dead.

“We call on the countries of the region and of the world […] to recognize the Islamic Emirate as a legitimate system”, one can also read.

“Remove all sanctions against Afghanistan, release the frozen funds of the Afghan people and support our nation,” the statement demands.

Since the return of the Taliban, the country has been plunged into a deep economic and humanitarian crisis, the international community having closed the floodgates of financial aid.

The United States and the Taliban continued talks in Doha this week on releasing aid after an earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people in eastern Afghanistan, with Washington wanting to ensure that those funds be used for humanitarian purposes.

The highlight of the rally in Kabul was the Friday appearance of Hibatullah Akhundzada, who lives reclusively in Kandahar, the spiritual center of the Taliban.

Despite his discretion, Mr. Akhundzada, who would be in his 70s, holds the movement with an iron fist, according to analysts, and bears the title of “Commander of the Faithful”.

On Friday in Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, denounced the “systemic oppression” exerted by the regime on Afghan women and girls.

“Since the Taliban took power, women and girls have experienced the largest and fastest decline in the enjoyment of their rights […] for decades,” she said during an urgent debate at the Human Rights Council on the issue.

She “strongly encouraged” the Taliban to “engage with predominantly Muslim countries with experience in promoting the rights of women and girls – as guaranteed under international law”.