So much for the new, gentler Taliban. Today a Taliban leader announced music will be banned in Afghanistan and that while women will be allowed to return to work and go to school, for longer trips, all females must be accompanied by a male chaperone.
In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid elaborated:
‘Music is forbidden in Islam, but we’re hoping that we can persuade people not to do such things, instead of pressure them,’ Mujahid said.
Still, he said, things will be different under this Taliban rule than the previous regime.
‘We want to build the future and forget what happened in the past,’ he said, rejecting reports that the Taliban is already extracting vengeance on those who opposed them and are trying to reimpose the harsh restrictions on women that made them notorious when they first took control in 1996.’
But Heather Barr, the associate director of women’s rights at Human Rights Watch, questioned the Taliban’s motives.
‘But of course, in those years they were in power, that moment never arrived – and I can promise you Afghan women hearing this today are thinking it will never arrive this time either.’
She said the Taliban is only claiming to be more liberal as they have the world’s media attention on them.
‘They’re trying to look normal and legitimate and this will last as long as the international community and the international press are still there,’ she said. ‘And then we’ll see what they’re really like again.’