The Taliban Decreed Men and Women 'Should Be Equal'

[Javaman]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/epxxy7/taliban-bans-forced-marriage-afghanistan


The Taliban has banned forced marriage in Afghanistan, decreeing – for the very first time – that “both (women and men) should be equal,” that women should not be considered “property” and that “no one can force women to marry by coercion or pressure.” Widows will also now be allowed to remarry 17 weeks after their husbands’ death, and will be able to choose their husband freely, rather than being forced to marry one of their former husband’s relatives, the group claimed.

The decree, announced on Friday and citing the words of elusive Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, declared that “The Islamic Emirate's leadership directs all relevant organisations... to take serious action to enforce Women's Rights.” It further instructed the Ministry of Culture and Information to publish material on women's rights “to prevent... ongoing repression.”

Afghan women’s rights advocates have hailed the move as a major step forward for the country – assuming the pledges set out by Akhundzada are actually implemented in practice.


“This is big, this is huge … if it is done as it is supposed to be, this is the first time they have come up with a decree like this,” Mahbouba Seraj, executive director of the Afghan Women’s Skills Development Center, told a Reuters Next conference panel on Friday. “Now what we have to do as the women of this country is we should make sure this actually takes place and gets implemented.”


more at link....


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we'll have to wait and see if this is real or just another bait and switch by the asshole taliban

[Aristus]

1. I'm skeptical.

Talk is one thing. But remember: the Taliban are basically religiously-fanatical incels with guns and power. They’re not going to do anything that grants rights and respect to people they hate, namely women.

[Irish_Dem]

2. They want to be accepted on the world stage, so have to tone down their crap.

They also want investments and funding.

[Mad_Machine76]

3. Interesting (and good) if true

We'll see

[iemanja]

4. It's only huge if it's enforced

and not merely propaganda to make the government appear better to international eyes.

[Silent3]

5. They desperately want some foreign money coming in, don't they? n/t

[sarisataka]

7. All animals are equal

Some animals are more equal than others

[jcmaine72]

8. "no one can force women to marry by coercion or pressure".....

Yeah, okay...

As long as they still force women to hide their faces, hair, and every other part of their identity as women, in public behind burqas, I won't believe a single word the Taliban says about "female equality".

Until we see women walking down the streets of Kabul or Herat free to wear whatever they please (including burqas, if that is truly their choice), and free to speak to whomever they choose (including men they're not related to), without fear of being publicly beaten, shamed or humiliated, we should take any proclamations the Taliban make about equality between the sexes with an exceptionally heavy grain of salt.

[Wounded Bear]

9. Sounds nice, but we'll see...

if it's just some PR move to entice foreign investment or something real.

They're talking the talk, let's see if they walk the walk.

Toss me in with the skeptical crowd.

[JI7]

10. They want the funds released

[malaise]

11. The thought that there needs to be a decree on this is more than

my tiny brain can process. I dare any man to tell me that I am not his equal or attempt to tell me what I can or cannot do - they'd have to kill me. Patriarchy is just plain evil. Who the fuck put them in charge of anyone?

[Bettie]

12. If they want to receive the foreign aid they so

desperately need, they will have to do things that they might not want to do, like allowing women and girls to be treated as human beings.

[maxsolomon]

13. See? We're moderating!

Now please come and fix the famine that wouldn't have happened if we hadn't overthrown the Government through a decades-long insurgent terror campaign.

[Midnight Writer]

14. The Taliban moves in the right direction for women, the GOP moves in the wrong direction.

The Taliban probably got tired of being compared to Republicans.