NEW DELHI: The Sufi Islamic Board became the first Muslim outfit in India to take up the cause of repression of Afghan women in their homeland. While individual voices have sounded their concern, the board has decided to take the matters up with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in New Delhi.
M. Azizur Rahman, national general secretary of the Sufi Khanqah Association, said the refugee commission should take note of the growing number of refugees in India due to the Taliban takeover, which in turn is affecting the resources India has at its disposal. The United Nations must find a solution and take a stand, he said.
“The terrorist mentality of the Taliban regarding women is no secret. The Taliban are exploiting women and treating them as objects and sex slaves. The brutal face of the Taliban stands exposed to the world. Through the Sufi Islamic Board and the Sufi Khanqah Association, sufis from all over India urge you to take necessary action and stop the atrocities perpetrated by the Taliban against women in Afghanistan.”
The UNHCR, however, did not accept the memorandum and turned the protestors away.
A few Afghan refugees also joined the protest and raised slogans against Pakistan and Taliban outside the UNHCR office.
National spokesperson of the Sufi Islamic Board, Sufi M. Kausar Majidi said, “Taliban, which is backed by Pakistan, is committing atrocities on women (in Afghanistan). This has forced women and children of Afghanistan to flee the country, leading to an influx of more than fifteen thousand homeless Afghans to India.”
By the end of August, Taliban had taken over and declared victory over Afghanistan ousting the erstwhile Afghanistan government. The entire world braced to hear what their stand would be as far as the women were concerned and it became apparently clear soon after.
The Taliban has prevented female teachers from teaching and women government employees from going to their offices. It has said that girls can continue to study, but not in mixed classrooms. They can be taught in their own separate arrangements by female instructors only. Given that there are not enough female instructors available, this is not going to be an easy feat.
Other laws such as disallowing women from stepping out in the streets on their own unless accompanied by a male relative; the requirement for head to toe cover are just some of the regressive rules enforced upon the women. The violations of which have led to strict punishment, bordering on atrocities being committed against the women in Afghanistan.