Harmful And Informative Essay: The Taliban In Afghanistan

The Taliban in Afghanistan In 1996 a Muslim group known as the Taliban used force to take control of the government in Afghanistan. The group is mostly known for taking the basic rights and education from the women in the country, and publically executing criminals. Though the group has been out of power for several years, it remains a cultural force in the region while working to undermine the U.S. central government. When the Taliban came to power, it negatively affected the citizens of Afghanistan. The Taliban quickly took total control of the government and their citizens in 1996. They gained territory in the city of Kandahar, and over two years expanded their influence through a mixture of force, negotiation, and payoffs (Kaplan). The force the Taliban used to take over of the government was based on strict Islamic law, which caused the people of Afghanistan to change their ways of living. This changed many of the lives of people living in Afghanistan. According to Mcnarma
“The Taliban rules approximately two thirds of Afghanistan. While it seemed as if the Taliban was successfully defeated in the 2001 U.S invasion, they've been able to regroup and refinance in Pakistan.” Even after being defeated, they quickly were able to regroup in Pakistan. The ability to bounce back and recover from the defeat shows how controlling and oppressive the Taliban really was. As well as aggressively controlling the government of Afghanistan, the Taliban also took control over the people.
Strict Islamic law changed many lives of people, especially women that were living there. It required women to wear head-to-toe veils, banned television, and would jail men whose beards seemed too short (Kaplan). Punishing people of Afghanistan simply because of beard length shows how much the Taliban took control of citizens. More specifically, they controlled women and took away simple rights they deserve. According to Mcnarma, “They could be beaten for appearing in public without a male escort. They couldn't go to school. They were, however, able to go out for water alone.” The overbearing ways of the Taliban took away the women’s right to education, which is a right women deserve. Also, the fact that being beaten on the street was often happening caused the women to fear for their safety. The people of Afghanistan should have the ability to feel safe in their own
country. Some people question whether the Taliban is helpful in some to the country or if it was altogether negative. The locations of Afghanistan's exiled Taliban leaders are not fully known. Some have been captured by U.S. forces and taken as enemies. According to Kaplan, “Experts say many of the Taliban were able to melt back into predominantly Pashtun areas of Afghanistan in the south and east; they have occasionally linked up with others to mount attacks, and some are working with violence to overthrow the current government.” The effects and attacks of the Taliban have on people still occur and play a role in society today. The mission of the Taliban today is to keep the U.S. government away, because of conflicts and events such as 911. According to Mcnarma, “They want to take their country back and they've adopted the roadside bombings, beheadings and suicide tactics of Al Qaeda - to try drive the U.S away.” The U.S. has captured many destructive leaders and done their best to improve the lives of some of the innocent Afghanistan citizens. Today, the Taliban still controls a majority of the country because of the imperious ways and tactics used from 1996 until today. These acts of violence and unfairness have negatively affected the citizens of the country. These tactics and ways of violence still play into the lives of these people everyday, and no one in Afghanistan can feel safe in their own country.