New Delhi: Unusual things can still happen around. Where 'men' seem to have lost, there begins the story of valiant Afghan women. Just when the world media and upposed 'super powers' sheepishly gave in, presuming that the Taliban is in the driving seat in Afghanistan and its harsh policies looked imminent, the Afghan women have proved they can fight back.
Displaying the women folk's outrage and throwing a mega public challenge to Taliban rule, women in Herat and Kabul staged protests and their demand being – inclusion in the new government.
The women have been already put indoors. In implementing their interpretation of the Islamic Sharia law, the insurgents have signaled that women would not be part of the cabinet.
Sharia is a religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the hadith.
For public consumption, the militant group are now engaged in 'discussions' among themselves and possibly some stakeholders in Pakistan about forming the new dispensation.
Pakistani spy agency ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed has already landed in Kabul.
For the last fortnight, most Afghans have apparently given up. Some families got busy spending whatever money they had for buying all-covering burqas for female relatives.
Some Afghan women have been thrown out of the workplace and are staying home. But the protests by a handful of women in Kabul and Herat have their significance as the narrative that local people have 'consented' for the departure of an elected government headed by Ashraf Ghani now stands challenged.
Of course, the brave women of Afghanistan still have a long way to go.
"The gathering was relatively small — video of the scene live streamed by the group showed just a few dozen demonstrators," said a CNN report on the protest in Kabul. The group called the Women's Political Participation Network marched on the street in front of Afghanistan's Finance Ministry, chanting slogans.
"Footage showed a brief confrontation between a Taliban guard and some of the women, and a man's voice could be heard saying, "Go away!" before chanting resumed," the CNN report said.
Amjad Ayub Mirza, an exiled PoJK activist who lives in Glasgow, said the protest by women is significant.
He also said another significant protest or resistance is happening at Panjshir.
The fate of Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley reportedly hangs in the balance as the 'resistance' is still on. The vice president of the ousted regime, Amrullah Saleh has denied that he has fled the country.
Commander of the anti-Taliban resistance forces in Panjshir, Ahmad Shah Masoud, has also vowed to 'save' the valley from the potent insurgent group.
Things definitely stand in favour of the Taliban, perhaps more so due to Pakistani complicity, but as the Indian government has suggested these are still early days.
