The Taliban claims to have declared an ‘amnesty’ across Afghanistan, as it urged women to join its new government after capturing Kabul without a fight.
Residents are extremely sceptical about the militant Islamist group’s more moderate tone, with thousands making increasingly desperate attempts to leave the country.
The comments came after pandemonium at Kabul airport, where people died attempting to force their way onto planes out and after plunging to the ground after clinging to the outside of an aircraft.
In an apparent attempt to calm nerves, Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, said: ‘The Islamic Emirate doesn’t want women to be victims,’ using the militants’ term for Afghanistan.
‘They should be in government structure according to Shariah law.’
He added: ‘The structure of government is not fully clear, but based on experience, there should be a fully Islamic leadership and all sides should join.’
But many Afghans remember the brutal regime the Taliban implemented between 1996 and 2001, which included stonings, amputations and public executions.
While there have been no major reports of abuses or fighting in Kabul, many residents have stayed home and remain fearful after the insurgents’ takeover saw prisons emptied and armouries looted.
But there have been reports of the homes of prominent women being marked, amid fears of future retribution, and the Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala – who the Taliban shot in the head for speaking out about women’s rights to education – has expressed fears for women and girls in Afghanistan.
There was also defiance among some journalists, with one news station openly celebrating its female anchors broadcasting again.
Mr Samangani was vague on other details – suggesting people already knew the rules of Islamic law the Taliban expected them to follow.
‘Our people are Muslims and we are not here to force them to Islam,’ he said.
But there was outrage and mounting concerns in the international community.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: ‘We are receiving chilling reports of severe restrictions on human rights throughout the country. I am particularly concerned by accounts of mounting human rights violations against the women and girls of Afghanistan.’
Afghanistan’s UN ambassador Ghulam Isaczai told the Security Council on Monday that women and girls are ‘about to lose their freedom to go to school, to work and to participate in the political, economic, and social life of the country.’
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