Roya Rahmani on Afghanistan: “It Is a Tragedy”

ROYA RAHMANI, FORMER AFGHAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Well, it is a tragedy, because if you’re just going to squander all the gains that we have had over the past 20 years, and then wait for another tragedy to be engaged, this is a big, historic mistake. What I’m seeing right now as an immediate effect is, one of the most tangible achievements of the past 20 years, which is the women empowerment in Afghanistan, is at the completely verge of loss. There is a rollback, as you mentioned. The Taliban are going back to the same ways that they represented themselves back in 1996.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So let’s just play a little bit of what the interview was with the Taliban spokesman that set up this idea of women should just stay out of politics — and, of course, we know that there are no women in their so called inclusive government — and stick to childbirth. This is what the spokesman said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAYED ZEKRULLAH HASHIMI, TALIBAN SPOKESMAN (through translator): The women protesting in the streets do not represent all the women of Afghanistan. The women of Afghanistan are those women who give birth to martyrdom, inculcated nation of Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: I mean, I guess I just want to ask you to react to that, because it sounds exactly like what we heard back in the late ’90s, when they first took over. And it’s exactly the reverse of what the others said, when they came in and gave that first press conference in Kabul, that women would, in fact, be welcomed in certain jobs and within, as they said all the time, the parameters of Sharia. Did you expect it to get this bad this quickly?

RAHMANI: Looking at how things have turn so fast rapidly, and so rapidly, in the past few weeks, yes, this is also expected. This is also an alarm, this is an indication for the entire world that as – – while there are still few cameras left, there are still people connected, this is what they are turning back. Imagine what would happen once you are all turning off your cameras, and you are moving on to a new subject. And they are talking right now about women’s issues and treating women badly. Maybe their world may not immediately react on that. But what happens in terms of their ties with al Qaeda, the harboring of terrorism, much more to come the same — with the rule of Taliban the same way that in 1996?