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A30 world news
Diaranson 16 Februari 2022
Six months of Taliban: Afghans safer, poorer, less hopeful
(AP) — Afghanistan has those in the higher grades are
undergone a dramatic still locked out in most parts “9/11 had nothing to do with
transformation in half a of the country. The Taliban Afghans,” one placard read.
year of Taliban rule. promised all girls will be in “Shame Shame Mr. Biden,
school after the Afghan new you kill us, you bomb us and
The country feels safer, less year at the end of March. now you steal our money.”
violent than it has in decades, Universities are gradually re-
but the once aid-fueled econ- opening and private universi- Tuesday’s was the largest
omy is barreling toward col- ties and schools never closed. demonstration yet against the
lapse. Tens of thousands of order and was organized by
Afghans have fled or have Poverty is deepening. Even an umbrella group of private
been evacuated, including those who have money have money dealers.
large numbers of educated a hard time accessing it. At
elites. They either fear for banks, lines are long as resi- The Taliban have campaigned
their economic future or lack dents wait for hours, some- for international recognition
of freedom under a group times even days, to withdraw of their all-male, all-Taliban
that ascribes to a strict in- a limit of $200 a week. government, but they are be-
terpretation of Islam. Dur- ing pressed to create an in-
ing its previous rule in the More than $9 billion in Af- clusive administration and
late 1990s, the Taliban barred ghanistan’s foreign assets guarantee the rights of wom-
girls from school and women were frozen after the Taliban en and religious minorities.
from work. takeover. Last week, Presi-
dent Joe Biden signed an ex- Graeme Smith, a senior con-
Tuesday marks six months ter initially shedding them The Taliban have cracked ecutive order that promised sultant for the International
since the Afghan capital of for the traditional shalwar down on women’s protests $3.5 billion — out of $7 bil- Crisis Group’s Asia Pro-
Kabul was ceded to the Tal- kameez, the long shirt and and harassed journalists, in- lion of Afghanistan’s assets gram, warned against using
iban with the sudden and baggy pants favored by the cluding briefly detaining two frozen in the United States sanctions, saying that would
secret departure of the coun- Taliban. foreign journalists working — would be given to families backfire.
try’s U.S.-backed president. with the U.N. refugee agen- of America’s 9/11 victims.
The takeover of Kabul had Unlike in the 1990s, the Tal- cy last week. The other $3.5 billion would “Keeping economic pres-
been preceded by a months- iban are allowing some wom- be freed for Afghan aid. sure on the Taliban will not
long Taliban military cam- en to work. Women are back On Monday, the detention get rid of their regime, but
paign to take control of pro- in their jobs in the health and of some young men selling Afghans across the political a collapsing economy could
vincial areas, many of which education ministries, as well heart-shaped flowers in rec- spectrum have decried the lead to more people fleeing
fell with hardly a fight. as at Kabul International Air- ognition of Valentine’s Day order, accusing the U.S. of the country, sparking another
port, often next to men. But was a stark reminder that the taking money that belongs to migration crisis” he said. He
Today, the sight of armed women are still waiting to re- new all-male religion-driven Afghans. also noted that this round of
Taliban fighters roaming the turn to work in other minis- administration has no toler- Taliban rule “probably ranks
street still jars and frightens tries. Thousands of jobs have ance for Western ideas of ro- On Tuesday, about 3,000 Af- as the most peaceful six-
residents. But women have been lost in the economic mance. ghans in the capital protested month period that Afghani-
returned to the streets, and downward spiral, and wom- Biden’s order carrying plac- stan has enjoyed in four de-
many young men have put en have been hit hardest. Girls in grades one to six have ards calling “Biden the world cades.”
on Western clothes again af- been going to school, but thief of 2022.”
UK Post Office inquiry hears from workers wrongfully accused
(AP) — A public inquiry theft, fraud or false account- more than 700 postal work- gest miscarriages of justice in hearing Monday that the
begins Monday to examine ing because of a faulty com- ers were wrongfully accused, British legal history. inquiry was not about “an
the wrongful convictions of puter system. with some convicted and IT project gone wrong” but
hundreds of British postal sent to prison. The mistakes The failures were blamed about the devastating impact
workers who were accused of Between 2000 and 2014, represented one of the big- on a defective computer ac- the failures had on those it af-
counting system called Hori- fected.
zon that was installed in local
Post Office branches in 1999. “Lives were ruined, fami-
The system was supplied lies torn apart, families were
by the Japanese technology made homeless or destitute.
firm Fujitsu. The Post Office Reputations were destroyed,”
maintained for years that data Beer said.
from Horizon was reliable
and accused branch manag- The inquiry was “about peo-
ers of dishonesty when the ple whose mental and physi-
system showed money was cal health has been impacted,
missing. people whose marriages and
partnerships have deterio-
In April, the Court of Ap- rated or failed, about people
peal overturned the wrong- who thought about taking
ful convictions of 39 people their own lives and in some
who ran local post offices. cases took their own lives,”
Those who had their names he said.
cleared included Harjinder
Butoy, who was convicted The inquiry will hear from
of stealing about 200,000 those most affected by the
pounds ($270,000) and jailed IT failings and examine the
for more than three years in conduct of the Post Office,
2008. as well as whether affected
workers have been rightly
Lawyer Jason Beer told the compensated.