The Taliban

The Taliban is a group of Muslims belonging to ethnic tribes of Afghanistan that formed around the year 1978. They gained control of the country and passed rigorous and stringent rules and regulations when they came to power. Those who were found disobeying them were imposed heavy fines and penalties. They were awarded brutal punishments that were carried out in full view of the public with the gathered people taking a kind of sadistic pleasure in stoning the perpetrators of major crimes to death.

The Taliban has fallen and risen from power quite a few times in the nation of Afghanistan ever since its establishment. It runs on extreme and radical ideologies that are interpreted to be the will of Allah. The Taliban, when it came to power had a long list of things and activities that were banned including the game of choice, any kind of music and white socks for women. The effects on women were especially bad with them no longer being allowed to even leave the sanctity of their homes in the absence of a male relative.

The dress code for both men and women was dictated and everyone was ordered to observe it strictly. Women were not even allowed to be examined by male doctors or complete their schooling. Any girl above the age of eight years could not receive further education and had to be withdrawn from school. There was a mass closure of educational institutions that taught young women. Women were not even allowed to enter the professional world in many areas with very few exceptions like that of medicine.

With the passing of years, the Taliban started gaining more and more strength and became quite powerful with its funding said to be coming from the Pakistani and other Muslim dominated countries. The Taliban started a terror war against the western nations with frequent terrorism attacks that were well-thought out and quite professionally executed. The Taliban has a tradition of training boys from a tender age. Special schools called madrasas that emphasize the importance of jihad are run for this very purpose. This is done because at this stage, children cannot really differentiate between right and wrong or organize any kind of rebellion against such ideas. In a country that is strife torn with very few opportunities for employment, the rewards bestowed on the family of a Taliban member are deemed to be quite attractive.

The Taliban is completely against development and progress of any kind. Its long reign has spelled doom for the country’s progress. After the September 11 attacks, the United States of America invaded Afghanistan and attempted to put a permanent stop to the Taliban regime. The battle between these two forces still continues with the US aiming to restore democracy in this region. The situation although not good yet, is gradually improving. Activities that were declared to be illegal by the Taliban are no longer so. However, there is still a tough battle ahead as the Taliban’s style of guerilla warfare hinders the return to normalcy.