Five Years of Taliban Rule: Humanitarian Aid Instead of Deportations

On the fifth anniversary of the radical Sunni Islamist Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan on August 15, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) calls for a halt to deportations to Afghanistan, particularly for members of minority groups and women.

“Since seizing power, the Taliban have been committing serious human rights crimes. Women’s fundamental rights are being increasingly restricted. Minorities such as the Hazara and Tajiks are also being persecuted,” explained Dr. Kamal Sido, Middle East Advisor at the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), today in Göttingen.

The Shiite Hazara, in particular, are being discriminated against and specifically targeted by the Taliban. The Sunni Taliban regard the Hazara as apostates. Other ethnic groups, such as the Tajiks, are also not considered equals. Women’s rights have been and continue to be systematically undermined by the Taliban: Women are often not allowed to work and thus cannot earn their own money. Girls are no longer allowed to attend school after the 6th grade. Access to public parks is also restricted for girls and women.

“For people who fled abroad after the Taliban took power, returning is not safe. Despite a general amnesty, there is a risk that they will be arrested or killed,” the human rights activist emphasizes. In this context, STP strongly warns against deportations to Afghanistan and calls for a halt to deportations. For members of the Hazara and Tajik communities, women, and critics of the regime in particular, a return would put their lives at risk. “It is a scandal that the German government is continually expanding its cooperation with the Taliban solely to be able to deport more people. In doing so, it accepts that it is legitimizing a terrorist regime and deporting people to inhumane conditions.”

The human rights organization also calls on the German government to maintain humanitarian aid for the Afghan people. “The Afghan people are suffering from massive Western sanctions. As with any sanctions regime, it is the civilian population that suffers the most,” said Sido. Lifting sanctions should be made contingent on concessions by the Taliban regarding women’s rights, minority rights, and human rights.

Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, Afghanistan has been governed as the Islamic Emirate. An estimated 45 million people live there. The Pashtuns constitute the largest ethnic group, followed by Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks. The country’s two official languages are Dari (a variant of Persian) and Pashto. In regions where the majority of the population speaks Uzbek or Turkmen, these languages are also considered official languages. However, the Tajik and Dari languages are increasingly being supplanted by Pashto. Proficiency in Pashto is often a prerequisite for obtaining government positions.

This press release was translated from German to English using AI. If you come across errors or ambiguities, please contact us at 65]G378o6DD6CA.