[The only way to save Afghanistan is solidarity of the
progressive, democratic and secular forces. We want an Afghanistan
free from fundamentalists and foreign intervention, in which men and
women have equal rights based on democracy.] [[link removed]]

OCCUPATION FAILED AFGHANISTAN. OUR STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM CONTINUES.  
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Malalai Joya
October 11, 2021
Il Manifesto
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_ The only way to save Afghanistan is solidarity of the progressive,
democratic and secular forces. We want an Afghanistan free from
fundamentalists and foreign intervention, in which men and women have
equal rights based on democracy. _

,

 

Twenty years after the U.S. launched their invasion and war, the
people of my long-suffering country are right back where we started.
After trillions of dollars spent, and hundreds of thousands killed and
displaced, the Taliban flag is once again flying over Afghanistan.

As the youngest woman elected to Afghanistan’s Parliament back in
2005, my experience reflects the failure of the U.S. and NATO war —
a policy that used women’s rights as a pretext for occupation but
only managed to empower the most corrupt forces in our society.

I survived several assassination attempts because I spoke out and
condemned the presence of warlords and criminals in the Afghan
government installed by the U.S. occupation. Then I was kicked out of
Parliament entirely and forced to live an underground existence.

The rise, and now the return, of the Taliban, and the ideological
brothers of these extremists  such as ISIS, al-Qaeda and dozens of
other terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, is the result of decades
of foreign intervention and corruption which has turned the hope of
life and a relatively bright future into a terrible nightmare for our
helpless compatriots. For 20 years now, I have given voice to my
people’s struggle for freedom, independence, prosperity and social
justice, and I have always been on the edge of protest against the
Jihadi-Taliban fundamentalists of every stripe and their bloodthirsty
foreign masters. For more than four decades, these fundamentalists
were mercenaries and creatures of the infernal organizations of the
CIA, Mossad, MI6, Wawak/Savak and ISI, who killed our defenseless and
innocent people and drove people from their homes.

The biggest treason of the U.S. to the Afghan nation is the submission
of Afghanistan to the Taliban through a shameful deal helped by the
puppet regime of Ashraf Ghani. With this action and giving amnesty and
international recognition to terrorist Taliban who are on the UN
blacklist as wanted criminals in the name of a peace agreement, the
U.S. proved once more that it has an inseparable bond with its
lackeys. The same treason was committed 20 years ago in Afghanistan
after 9/11. The U.S. replaced the barbaric Taliban regime, who were
responsible for the savage civil war from 1992-1996, with
fundamentalist warlords and some western technocrats.

Now, once again they brought the Taliban to power under the name of a
so-called “peace.” In fact, history is repeated in Afghanistan and
they disrespected and betrayed the values of democracy. This brutal
war is far from over because a sinister dealing with a savage group
armed and supported by foreign intelligence agencies will never bring
peace, and peace without justice is meaningless.

Looking back to history, the U.S. regime has committed war crimes and
they did so even in their last operation in Afghanistan by shooting
into the crowds waiting at the airport, killing and wounding more than
40 Afghans and several other desperate people who fell from a military
plane. They launched rockets from the airport towards residential
areas in the name of targeting ISIS and as a result killed nine
innocent Afghans, including women and children.

Everyone knows the Taliban came to power in a disgraceful American
deal, otherwise how could the U.S. government and the Ghani regime
have completely disintegrated overnight with all these military
facilities and 20 years of support from the so-called international
community. This is perhaps the ugliest and most painful tragedy of the
past 50 years, in which the CIA and other foreign intelligence and
military forces have humiliated and tortured our freedom-loving nation
and left it in the mouth of a rabid dragon.

Less than two months into this new Taliban regime, we can already see
the brutality they will unleash against our people. Prominent examples
are the bombing and destruction of large areas of Panjshir and the
deliberate and targeted killings of Panjshiris, summary executions,
forced relocation of Panjshir residents, brutal repression of
demonstrations and torture, the disappearance of many journalists and
social activists, the disappearance of a number of young protesters,
whose fate is still unknown, and dozens of other tragic cases that
have been recorded in the deadly regime of these savage murderers. I
have said many times in the past and I repeat now that the Taliban
have not changed, nor have they become moderate, soft-spoken and
humane. Whatever public relations the “new” Taliban attempt, do
not doubt the brutality with which they will again destroy the
valuable pillars of the society.

In addition to the U.S. and its nefarious interests, regional powers
have long been interested in intervention in our country and wanted to
occupy or control Afghanistan — especially China, Russia, Pakistan
and Iran. Each of these countries have their own specific strategic
interests, for their own benefits. Furthermore, countries like the
U.K., Germany, Turkey, Qatar, France and many others have contributed
to the instability of Afghanistan pushing it back to the dark ages for
their own political, economical and military interests.

Women’s rights under the Taliban regime are non-existent and will
include torture, beating with lashes, forced marriages, stoning,
banning of music and deprivation of basic lifestyles, deprivation of
education and jobs, and many more examples showing their misogynous
and inhumane nature. A clear recent example is the women covered from
head to toe in black Hijab at the University of Kabul and at the
streets in Kunduz, Faryab and Kabul, who blindly came on stage with
the slogan “Death to Democracy and Long Live the Emirate.”
Although the Taliban brutally persecuted Negars, Razias and dozens of
other girls and women, they can never silence the call for women’s
liberation and equality. Widespread protests against the absurd and
rotten ideology of the Taliban have begun with the presence of
progressive and fearless women. These incredible displays of courage
are a source of hope for further effective movements and the
nationwide women’s movement.

The catastrophe has caused many men and women to be unemployed and at
the same time inflation has risen, which will lead to extreme poverty.
Looking at the streets of Kabul, Herat and Balkh, we see only long
queues of people selling household appliances due to poverty and
misery. It is heartbreaking to see that some families have even had to
sell their beloved children or their own kidneys or commit suicide
because they could not feed their children.

Banks were closed for a while after the Taliban takeover, and people
now have only limited access to their own money. In the absence of
salaries, many former government employees spend hard and exhausting
days searching for the means of survival or risk death for a chance at
illegal immigration. Most health workers have left their jobs or
turned to precarious work outside their field. The value of the Afghan
currency has plummeted to an all-time low over the past 20 years, and
the $9 billion of capital frozen by U.S. criminal bullies has deepened
the current catastrophe, and our oppressed people are the ones who are
struggling every day.

I have repeatedly emphasized that the only way to save Afghanistan and
to get rid of this catastrophic situation is solidarity of the
progressive, democratic and secular forces. If we want to have an
independent, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan in which men and
women have equal rights based on democracy, people need strong
solidarity to be free from fundamentalists and any foreign
interventions. For two decades I have been repeatedly saying that
“no nation can give liberation to another nation.” Now I insist
again that only nations can liberate themselves.

Afghans are a courageous and determined people, and even in these dark
hours for our country we will find new ways to unite and fight for our
liberation. International solidarity and support are crucial at this
time. Do not forget the women of Afghanistan just because the U.S. and
other NATO troops have gone home. We are more determined than ever to
come together to make sure that one day the true flag of our country
will fly over an independent and free Afghanistan.

_Malalai Joya is an activist, author and former member of Afghan
Parliament._

_Subscribe to the Il Manifesto newsletter._

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