Editing Taliban (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Taliban}}
{{Further|Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Taliban insurgency}}

The Taliban movement originated in [[Pashtun nationalism]], and its ideological underpinnings are with that of broader Afghan society. The Taliban's roots lie in the religious schools of [[Kandahar]] and were influenced significantly by foreign support, particularly from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, during the Soviet–Afghan War. They emerged in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, capturing Kandahar and expanding their control across the country; they became involved in a war with the [[Northern Alliance]]. The international response to the Taliban varied, with some countries providing support while others opposed and did not recognize their regime.

During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban implemented strict religious regulations, notably affecting women's rights and cultural heritage. This period included significant ethnic persecution and the destruction of the [[Buddhas of Bamiyan]]. After the US-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban were ousted from power but regrouped and launched an insurgency that lasted two decades.

The Taliban returned to power in 2021 following the [[Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2020–2021)|US withdrawal]]. Their efforts to establish the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan continue, with education policies and international relations, including internal and external challenges faced by the Taliban regime.

=== 2021 offensive and return to power ===
{{Main|2021 Taliban offensive|Fall of Kabul (2021)}}
{{Further||Afghanistan#Taliban resurgence}}
[[File:2021 Taliban Offensive.png|thumb|A map of Afghanistan showing the [[2021 Taliban offensive]]]]
In mid 2021, the Taliban led a major offensive in Afghanistan during the withdrawal of US troops from the country, which gave them control of over half of Afghanistan's 421 districts as of 23 July 2021.<ref name="Taliban Consolidation and Foothold">{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Idrees |date=21 July 2021 |title=Taliban Consolidation and Foothold |work= |publisher=Reuters, Asia Pacific |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/half-all-afghan-district-centers-under-taliban-control-us-general-2021-07-21/ |access-date=26 July 2021 |ref=Milley said more than 200 of the 419 district centers were under Taliban control. Last month, he had said the Taliban controlled 81 district centers in Afghanistan.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Roggio |first=Bill |date=9 July 2021 |title=Taliban squeezes Afghan government by seizing key border towns |publisher=FDD's Long War Journal |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2021/07/taliban-squeezes-afghan-government-by-seizing-key-border-towns.php |access-date=11 July 2021}}</ref> By mid-August 2021, the Taliban controlled every major city in Afghanistan; following the [[Battle of Kabul (2021)|near seizure of the capital Kabul]], the Taliban occupied the [[Arg (Kabul)|Presidential Palace]] after the incumbent President [[Ashraf Ghani]] fled Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Santora |first1=Marc |last2=Rosenberg |first2=Matthew |last3=Nossiter |first3=Adam |date=18 August 2021 |title=The Afghan president who fled the country is now in the U.A.E. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/18/world/asia/ashraf-ghani-uae-afghanistan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818144728/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/18/world/asia/ashraf-ghani-uae-afghanistan.html |archive-date=18 August 2021 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=26 August 2021 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='We failed in politics': Exiled Afghan president refuses to blame military |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/video/exiled-afghan-president-ghani-releases-video-message-from-uae-118981701935 |access-date=26 August 2021 |publisher=NBC News |quote=''[Translated]'' I am currently in the Emirates to prevent bloodshed}}</ref> Ghani's Asylum was confirmed by the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (United Arab Emirates)|UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation]] on 18 August 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statement on President Ashraf Ghani |url=https://www.mofaic.gov.ae/en/mediahub/news/2021/8/18/18-08-2021-uae-statement |access-date=26 August 2021 |website=mofaic.gov.ae}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 August 2021 |title=Afghan president latest leader on the run to turn up in UAE |url=https://apnews.com/article/europe-middle-east-39610b0102a926c1a573da3d6feb0eea |access-date=26 August 2021 |website=AP NEWS}}</ref> Remaining Afghan forces under the leadership of [[Amrullah Saleh]], [[Ahmad Massoud]], and [[Bismillah Khan Mohammadi]] retreated to Panjshir to continue resistance.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kramer |first=Andrew E. |date=18 August 2021 |title=Leaders in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley defy the Taliban and demand an inclusive government. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/18/world/asia/taliban-panjshir-valley.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/18/world/asia/taliban-panjshir-valley.html |archive-date=28 December 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=18 August 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Leadership |url=http://www.nrfafg.org/leadership |access-date=21 August 2021 |website=The National Resistance Front: Fighting for a Free Afghanistan |publisher=National Resistance Front of Afghanistan |archive-date=4 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904145638/https://www.nrfafg.org/leadership |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 August 2021 |title='Panjshir stands strong': Afghanistan's last holdout against the Taliban |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/18/panjshir-stands-strong-afghanistans-last-holdout-against-the-taliban |access-date=19 August 2021 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

==== Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (2021–present) ====
[[File:Taliban Humvee in Kabul, August 2021 (cropped).png|thumb|Taliban [[Humvee]] in Kabul, August 2021]]
[[File:Taliban member with chest flags.png|thumb|A Taliban member with chest flags in Kabul, September 2022]]
The Taliban had "seized power from an established government backed by some of the world's best-equipped militaries"; and as an ideological insurgent movement dedicated to "bringing about a truly Islamic state" its victory has been compared to that of the  [[Chinese Communist Revolution]] in 1949 or [[Iranian Revolution]] of 1979, with their "sweeping" remake of society. However, as of 2021–2022, senior Taliban leaders  have emphasized the "softness" of their revolution and how they desired "good relations" with the United States, in discussions with American journalist Jon Lee Anderson.<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" />

Anderson notes that the Taliban's war against any "[[Aniconism in Islam|graven images]]", so vigorous in their early rule, has been abandoned, perhaps made impossible by smartphones and Instagram. One local observer (Sayed Hamid Gailani) has argued the Taliban have not killed "a lot" of people after returning to power. Women are seen out on the street, Zabihullah Mujahid (acting Deputy Minister of Information and Culture) noted there are still women working in a number of government ministries, and claimed that girls will be allowed to attend secondary education when bank funds are unfrozen and the government can fund "separate" spaces and transportation for them.<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" />

When asked about the slaughter of Hazara Shia by the first Taliban régime, Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban nominee for Ambassador to the U.N. told Anderson "The Hazara Shia for us are also Muslim. We believe we are one, like flowers in a garden."<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" /> In late 2021, journalists from ''The New York Times'' [[Embedded journalism|embedded]] with a six-man Taliban unit tasked with protecting the Shi'ite [[Sakhi Shrine]] in Kabul from the [[Islamic State]], noting "how seriously the men appeared to take their assignment." The unit's commander said that "We do not care which ethnic group we serve, our goal is to serve and provide security for Afghans."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Blue|first1=Victor J.|last2=Gibbons-Neff|first2=Thomas|last3=Padshah|first3=Safiullah|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-kabul-shiites.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128101541/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-kabul-shiites.html |archive-date=28 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=On Patrol: 12 Days With a Taliban Police Unit in Kabul|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=28 January 2022|access-date=7 March 2022}}</ref> In response to "international criticism" over lack of diversity, an ethnic Hazara was appointed deputy health minister, and an ethnic Tajik appointed deputy trade minister.<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" />

On the other hand, the [[Ministry of Women's Affairs (Afghanistan)|Ministry of Women's Affairs]] has been closed and its building is the new home of [[Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Afghanistan)|Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice]]. According to Anderson, some women still employed by the government are "being forced to sign in at their jobs and then go home, to create the illusion of equity"; and the appointment of ethnic minorities has been dismissed by an "adviser to the Taliban" as tokenism.<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" />

Reports have "circulated" of
<blockquote>"Hazara farmers being forced from their land by ethnic Pashtuns, of raids of activists' homes, and of extrajudicial executions of former government soldiers and intelligence agents".<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" /></blockquote>
According to a [[Human Rights Watch]]'s report released in November 2021, the Taliban killed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former members of the Afghan security forces in the three months since the takeover in just the four provinces of Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, and Kunduz. According to the report, the Taliban identified targets for arrest and execution through intelligence operations and access to employment records that were left behind. Former members of the security forces were also killed by the Taliban within days of registering with them to receive a letter guaranteeing their safety.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/11/30/no-forgiveness-people-you/executions-and-enforced-disappearances-afghanistan#|title = Executions and Enforced Disappearances in Afghanistan under the Taliban|journal = Human Rights Watch | date = 30 November 2021}}</ref>

Despite Taliban claims that the ISIS has been defeated, IS carried out suicide bombings in October 2021 at Shia mosques [[2021 Kunduz mosque bombing|in Kunduz]] [[2021 Kandahar bombing|and Kandahar]], killing over 115 people. As of late 2021, there were still "sticky bomb" explosions "every few days" in the capital Kabul.<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" />

Explanations for the relative moderation of the new Taliban government and statements from its officials such as – "We have started a new page. We do not want to be entangled with the past,"<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" /> –?include that it did not expect to take over the country so quickly and still had "problems to work out among" their factions";<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" />  that $7 billion in Afghan government funds in US banks has been frozen, and that the 80% of the previous government's budget that came from "the United States, its partners, or international lenders", has been shut off, creating  serious economic crisis; according to the U.N. World Food Program country director, Mary Ellen McGroarty, as of late 2021, early 2022 "22.8 million Afghans are already severely food insecure, and seven million of them are one step away from famine"; and that the world community  has "unanimously" asked the Taliban "to form an inclusive government, ensure the rights of women and minorities and guarantee that Afghanistan will no more serve as the launching pad for global terrorist operations", before it recognizes the Taliban government.<ref name="Geo News-2021">{{cite news |last1=Haider |first1=Nasim |title=Why is the world not recognizing the Taliban government? |url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/386122-why-is-the-world-not-recognizing-the-taliban-government |access-date=4 March 2022 |agency=AFP |publisher=Geo News |date=6 December 2021}}</ref>  In conversation with journalist Anderson, senior Taliban leaders implied that the harsh application of sharia during their first era of rule in the 1990s was necessary because of the "depravity" and "chaos" that remained from the  Soviet occupation, but that now  "mercy and compassion" were the order of the day.<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" /> This was contradicted by former senior members of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, one of which who told Anderson, "they will do anything to convince the international community to give them financing, but eventually I'll be forced to wear the burqa again. They are just waiting."<ref name="Anderson-2-2022" />

After Taliban retook power in 2021, border clashes erupted between the Taliban with its neighbors includes [[2021 Afghanistan–Iran clashes|Iran]] and [[Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmishes|Pakistan]], leading to casualties on both sides.<ref>{{cite news |title=Clashes over Iran-Afghanistan's 'border misunderstanding' ended |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/clashes-over-iran-afghanistans-border-misunderstanding-ended-2021-12-01/ |access-date=1 December 2021 |publisher=Reuters |date=1 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=طالبان تسيطر على مواقع ونقاط حراسة ايرانية على الحدود المشتركة |url=https://www.albawaba.com/ar/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1/%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%83-%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-1457282 |access-date=1 December 2021 |publisher=Al Bawaba |date=1 December 2021}}</ref>

In the early months of Taliban rule, international journalists have had some access to Afghanistan. In February 2022, several international journalists, including [[Andrew North (journalist)|Andrew North]] were detained. The [[Committee to Protect Journalists]] described their detention as "a sad reflection of the overall decline of press freedom and increasing attacks on journalists under Taliban rule."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Crouch |first1=Erik |title=Taliban arrests 2 journalists on assignment with United Nations |url=https://cpj.org/2022/02/taliban-arrests-2-journalists-on-assignment-with-united-nations/ |website=Committee to Protect Journalists |access-date=27 July 2023 |date=11 February 2022}}</ref> The journalists were released after several days.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Korpar |first1=Lora |title=Taliban Says It Released Detained UN Journalist Andrew North, Others |url=https://www.newsweek.com/taliban-says-it-released-detained-un-journalist-andrew-north-others-1678521 |access-date=27 July 2023 |work=Newsweek |date=11 February 2022}}</ref> Subsequently, watchdog organizations have continued to document a number of arrests of local journalists, as well as barring access to international journalists.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Crouch |first1=Erik |title=Taliban intelligence forces detain Afghan journalist Irfanullah Baidar |url=https://cpj.org/2023/07/taliban-intelligence-forces-detain-afghan-journalist-irfanullah-baidar/ |website=Committee to Protect Journalists |access-date=27 July 2023 |date=21 July 2023}}</ref>

The country's small community of [[Sikhs]] - who form Afghanistan's second largest religion<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thejaipurdialogues.com/society/s-jaishankar-a-beacon-of-hope-for-afghan-sikhs/ | title=S. Jaishankar a Beacon of Hope for Afghan Sikhs | date=11 June 2023 }}</ref> - as well as [[Hindus]], have reportedly been prevented from celebrating their holidays as of 2023 by the Taliban government.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Negah |first=Freshta |title='Forced To Dress Like a Muslim': Taliban Imposes Restrictions On Afghanistan's Sikh, Hindu Minorities |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-sikh-hindu-muslim-taliban-restrictions/32559175.html |access-date=2024-04-17 |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty}}</ref> Despite this, the Taliban in a later statement praised the communities and assured that their private land and property will be secured.<ref name="Bhattacherjee">{{Cite news |last=Bhattacherjee |first=Kallol |date=2024-04-15 |title=Taliban is 'particularly committed' to protect rights of Hindus and Sikhs: Spokesperson of Taliban 'Justice Ministry' |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/taliban-is-particularly-committed-to-protect-rights-of-hindus-and-sikhs-spokesperson-of-taliban-justice-ministry/article68068378.ece |access-date=2024-04-17 |work=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> In April 2024, the former sole Sikh member of parliament, [[Narendra Singh Khalsa]], returned to Afghanistan for the first time since the collapse of the Republic.<ref name="Bhattacherjee" />

=====Current education policy=====
In September 2021, the government ordered [[primary school]]s to reopen for both sexes and announced plans to reopen [[secondary education|secondary schools]] for male students, without committing to do the same for female students.<ref name="Graham-Harrison 09/17/21">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/17/taliban-ban-girls-from-secondary-education-in-afghanistan |title=Taliban ban girls from secondary education in Afghanistan |last=Graham-Harrison |first=Emma |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=17 September 2021 |access-date=18 September 2021}}</ref> While the Taliban stated that female [[college]] students will be able to resume [[Higher education in Afghanistan|higher education]] provided that they are segregated from male students (and professors, when possible),<ref name="Reuters 09/12/21">{{Cite web|date=2021-09-13|title=Taliban say women can study at university but classes must be segregated|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/taliban-say-woman-can-study-university-classes-must-be-segregated-2021-09-12/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted that "if the high schools do not reopen for girls, the commitments to allow university education would become meaningless once the current cohort of students graduated."<ref name="Graham-Harrison 09/17/21"/> [[Ministry of Higher Education (Afghanistan)|Higher Education Minister]] [[Abdul Baqi Haqqani]] said that female university students will be required to observe proper [[hijab]], but did not specify if this required covering the face.<ref name="Reuters 09/12/21"/>

[[Kabul University]] reopened in February 2022, with female students attending in the morning and males in the afternoon. Other than the closure of the music department, few changes to the curriculum were reported.<ref name="AP Reopening">{{cite web|last=Kullab|first=Samya|url=https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-education-higher-education-kabul-taliban-e57683e739550cb4a14687a96d5191dc?utm|title=Afghan students return to Kabul U, but with restrictions|work=[[Associated Press]]|date=2022-02-26|access-date=2022-03-23}}</ref> Female students were officially required to wear an [[abaya]] and a hijab to attend, although some wore a [[shawl]] instead. Attendance was reportedly low on the first day.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wali|first=Qubad|url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/afghan-universities-reopen-few-women-124047855.html|title=Afghan universities reopen, but few women return|work=[[Agence France-Presse]]|date=2022-02-26|access-date=2022-02-27|archive-date=20 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320234912/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/afghan-universities-reopen-few-women-124047855.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In March 2022, the Taliban abruptly halted plans to allow girls to resume secondary school education even when separated from males.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Greenfield |first1=Charlotte |title=Taliban to open high schools for girls next week, official says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-open-high-schools-girls-next-week-official-says-2022-03-17/ |work=Reuters |date=17 March 2022}}</ref> At the time, ''The Washington Post'' reported that apart from university students, "sixth is now the highest grade girls may attend". The Afghan Ministry of Education cited the lack of an acceptable design for female student uniforms.<ref>{{cite news|last=George|first=Susannah|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/23/taliban-afghan-girls-school-secondary/|title=Taliban reopens Afghan schools – except for girls after sixth grade|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=2022-03-23|access-date=2022-03-23}}</ref>

On December 20, 2022, in violation of their prior promises, the Taliban banned female students from attending higher education institutions with immediate effect.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Greenfield |first1=Charlotte |last2=Yawar |first2=Mohammad Yunus |date=December 20, 2022 |title=Taliban-led Afghan administration suspends women from universities |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-led-afghan-administration-says-female-students-suspended-universities-2022-12-20/ |access-date=December 20, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 22, 2022 |title=Afghanistan: Taliban ban women from universities amid condemnation |work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64045497 |access-date=December 22, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Popalzai |first1=Ehsan |last2=Kottasová |first2=Ivana |date=December 20, 2022 |title=Taliban suspend university education for women in Afghanistan |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/asia/taliban-bans-women-university-education-intl/index.html |access-date=December 20, 2022}}</ref> The following day, December 21, 2022, the Taliban instituted a ban on all education for all girls and women around the country alongside a ban on female staff in schools, including teaching professions. Teaching was one of the last few remaining professions open to women.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Engel Rasmussen |first=Sune |date=December 21, 2022 |title=Afghanistan's Taliban Ban All Education for Girls |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistans-taliban-ban-all-education-for-girls-11671642870 |access-date=December 22, 2022}}</ref>