Under Taliban rule, residents of Kunduz fear the future: 'People are scared'
The Taliban has proclaimed it won't lead by fear in Afghanistan, but residents of Kunduz — a city seized by the militant group just a week ago — say they are already under strict rule, with checkpoints on nearly every street corner, alcohol sales banned, and women who work for the government told to stay home.
Before the U.S. war in Afghanistan began in 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan for five years, enforcing extreme sharia law. There were mass executions of civilians; women were prohibited from attending school, forced to wear burqas, and had to be accompanied by a male relative while in public; and photography, paintings, and most music and movies were banned. With the U.S. withdrawing, the Taliban has swept across Afghanistan, seizing major border crossings and cities. Now that its fighters are in Kabul and have seized the presidential palace, the Taliban is effectively in control of Afghanistan.
The Taliban captured Kunduz last Sunday, and what is happening there might give a glimpse into how the rest of the country will be ruled. The New York Times interviewed several residents by telephone, as well as Taliban commander Gul Mohammad Elias, the newly appointed mayor. By the time the Taliban seized Kunduz, after weeks of fighting, power lines were down, most people didn't have water, and trash and rubble littered the streets. Afraid to go to work, many civil servants remained at home.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Elias told the Times he called workers into his office and asked them to return to their jobs, saying "that our jihad is not with the municipality, our jihad is against the occupiers and those who defend the occupiers." Some listened, but those who didn't were visited by Taliban fighters, who demanded they go back to work. Elias quickly called another meeting of male government workers, one resident told the Times, this time with armed Taliban fighters in the room.
At the regional hospital, a note states that if employees don't start showing up, the Taliban will punish them. One health care worker said Taliban fighters are tracking down his colleagues who fled Kunduz and ordering them to return. Female hospital employees, afraid of getting in trouble, are wearing burqas. "People are scared, they are not happy, and if anyone says that people are happy, he is lying," one civil servant told the Times. "Everyone is wondering, what will happen to our future?"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
People of the year 2024
In the Spotlight Remember the people who hit the headlines this year?
By The Week UK Published
-
The Christmas quiz 2024
From the magazine Test your grasp of current affairs and general knowledge with our quiz
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: December 25, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Top Russian general killed in Moscow blast
Speed Read A remote-triggered bomb killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
NATO chief urges Europe to arm against Russia
Speed Read Mark Rutte said Putin wants to 'wipe Ukraine off the map' and might come for other parts of Europe next
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Syria government takes charge, urging 'stability'
Speed Read The rebel forces that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad announced an interim government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
South Korea roiled by short-lived martial law
Speed Read President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law was a 'clear violation of the constitution,' said the opposition parties who have moved to impeach him
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Syrian rebels seize Aleppo in surprise offensive
Speed Read The rebels made gains against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and reignited Syria's 13-year-old civil war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published