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As Mazari Sharif writes in The Washington Post, teachers here learned last month that the eyes and ears of the Taliban are everywhere.
A woman took a burqa and uncovered her face for a moment, said Mah Jan, an educator in the northern province of Balkh.
Soon another colleague looked at the phone.
Then came a message from the Taliban relayed by the old man. If they offend again, the group warned: “We will take them out and no one will be able to save them.” This is how Mah Jan remembered, refusing to reveal his last name for fear of revenge.
Got very cruel
The Taliban are occupying Afghan cities one after another, and the country’s forces are surrendering en masse, increasing the chances that the government will collapse and let the citizens accept the strong and cruel will of the group.
In an interview with The Washington Post, dozens of Afghans from the northern provinces, in the area of the Taliban, fleeing the relocation camps, are already talking about the closure of schools for girls, poor families who are forced to cook for militants and young men who are forced to do so. Join the group.
Some people reported receiving threats from newcomers to their villages.
AFP / “Scanpix” nuotr./Afganistanas
They all paint a depressing picture of how life has changed since US forces began the final phase of withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A Taliban spokesman did not respond to a request for comment from The Washington Post.
Some of the restrictions imposed by the group – burqas for women, long beards for men, forced visits to mosques – are reminiscent of the Taliban regime of the late 1990s.
The new restrictions are designed to curb 21st century technology and advances in women’s rights.
Maj Jan, who had previously studied with the Taliban, said the militants had been monitoring teachers and their ties to aid groups even before the regime was toppled after the 2001 US invasion.
But now, he said, the Taliban have become very cruel.
Banned smartphones
The restrictions have entered the most private moments, according to The Washington Post.
Ansari, a young woman from Balkh province, said smartphones had been banned entirely, severely restricting communication with families outside of Afghanistan and allowing students to connect with teachers when pandemic restrictions were still in place.
“Scanpix” / AP nuotr./Cables per attack
“If lonely girls are caught using smartphones, they are asked about the possibility of having a relationship with a boy,” Ansari said. “If the boys listen to the songs, the Taliban smash their memory cards.”
Afghan analysts say the Taliban’s treatment of the population varies between provinces and districts, as autonomous local leaders adapt their attitudes based on ethnicity and local politics.
Some communities, especially in rural provinces, may already be subject to conservative restrictions that reflect some of the characteristics of the Taliban.
For example, encouraging girls to stay out of school, said Patricia Gossman, associate director of Human Rights Watch.
According to her, some communities salute the Taliban out of fear, others do so out of frustration at corrupt police officers or violent ex-soldiers.
„Scanpix“ / „Sipa USA“ nuotr./Afganistanas
Often returns hungry
As the Taliban increasingly occupy Afghanistan, the country’s humanitarian catastrophe worsens.
According to the International Organization for Migration, almost 360,000 people have been internally displaced.
An article in The Washington Post says that more than 2,000 Afghan families have taken refuge in Mazari Sharif, the capital of Balkh province and the fourth largest city in Afghanistan.
Many of them now live in tents on the outskirts of vital economic centers surrounded by the Taliban.
Police officer Naimat Samadi said he fled to Mazari Sharif when the Taliban occupied his village. He feared revenge for his work.
He said the Taliban had ordered residents with tools to tear down the walls of police and military posts.
Scanpix / AP Photo / Afghan Translators
“The Taliban destroyed my house because I fought against them,” Samadi said.
Yar Mohammad Beg, 65, said one of his sons fled to Iran. The second is hiding because the call has begun. Their son has a disability when he fell from the roof many years ago, but that did not stop the group from trying to put a gun in his hands.
YMBeg, according to the Tha Washington Post, is afraid to return to the village. But even near Mazari Sharif, he is not very successful because he does not get a job, because people are looking for younger workers.
“I go to the market in the morning to look for work. I often come back hungry. “I spend the rest of the day sitting in the shadows,” he said.
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