‘I feel powerless and angry about plight of Afghan girls and women’
One of Wales’ leading human rights campaigners has called for the UK and other Western countries to provide safe havens for those fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan. Former Welsh Labour MP Ann Clwyd spoke to political editor-at-large Martin Shipton
THE speed with which the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan has increased the chances of a humanitarian catastrophe.
Caught between a fanatical army of militants whose worldview is rooted in the seventh century and Western governments who are reluctant to take in refugees, the future for many – and especially for Afghan women – looks grim.
Ann Clwyd, the veteran Welsh Labour MP for Cynon Valley who stood down from Parliament two years ago, has for many years campaigned for marginalised groups like the Kurds.
As it became clear over the weekend that Afghanistan was going to fall, she posted a series of tweets expressing her own anguish and frustration at the events as they unfolded.
Asked whether she thought the United States and its allies had been wrong to invade Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Ms Clwyd said: “We were after al-Qaeda at the time and had to root them out.
“I think everyone has been shocked by the speed at which the Taliban have advanced and the way in which they have met hardly any resistance.
“The situation in the country has been out of the news for a long time and hasn’t been talked about sufficiently. “Very few people seem to have known what was going on. At first there were peace talks that the Taliban weren’t involved in. “That was a ridiculous situation – how can you have peace talks when one of the crucial players isn’t attending?” Asked about reports that Donald Trump’s representatives, when he was president, had effectively given the Taliban a green light to take power during talks in Doha, Qatar, Ms Clwyd said: “Trump showed little interest in foreign policy and when he did it tended to be a disaster every time. “Biden doesn’t seem to have consulted with US allies before making the decision to pull out. “What is extraordinary is that after the billions spent training the Afghan forces to take over the responsibility for leading the fight against the Taliban, they just seem to have given up with virtually no resistance. “They were stronger than the Taliban numerically, but when it came to the crunch they may have had the physical power to defeat them, but not the mental power to do so.
“I don’t have all the answers, but what’s absolutely crucial at this time is to welcome refugees who manage to get out.
“We should have been preparing safe land corridors by which people could escape. That’s what was done for the Kurds when Turkey closed the border during the war in Iraq.
“I feel powerless and angry about the plight of Afghan girls and women. People should be shouting about this from the rooftops, but there has mostly been silence.
“Since the overthrow of the Taliban, they’ve been able to go to school and university and play a full and liberated part in society.
“One of the saddest reports I’ve seen in recent days was an interview with a former woman education minister in Kabul who was waiting for the Taliban to arrive. She was sitting on the floor of her home saying she didn’t know what was going to happen.
“You certainly can’t trust the Taliban. Their behaviour in the past shows them to have been wholly against the education and emancipation of girls and women.
“People have already been targeted for assassination and we know that girls have been forced to marry Taliban fighters. Some have also been sold.
“I have a great deal of sympathy for the family members of British troops who have died and for those who have been injured in the fighting. But they are in the military and always know they are at risk..
“What is terrible is that people who have worked for the British, as interpreters for example, are not being guaranteed refugee status by the UK Government. They have loyally given us service, which was greatly appreciated at the time, and it’s appalling that they are now being cast aside and left in great danger.
“Clearly they will be targets for assassination, and that can’t be allowed to happen.
“Afghan women must not be abandoned and there needs to be negotiation with those who take over the country aimed at securing their future.
“We already know they are being forced to wear the burka. As I know myself, having worn it in the past, it is an extremely uncomfortable article of clothing. You can’t see what is in front of you very well and you’re in danger of falling over. It’s also quite suffocating.
“But while they may not want to wear it, I’m sure Afghan women would see that as a small price to pay if they were free to continue their studies and professional work.
“Whether the Taliban will permit that in the future remains to be seen.
“I hope Wednesday’s House of Commons debate will be worthwhile and that the UK Government will adopt a humane approach towards the refugees.”
Asked whether she feared that Afghanistan could again become a safe haven for terrorists, Ms Clwyd said: “It’s a very worrying situation that could easily become a catastrophe.
“We know how brutal the Taliban are. You only have to look at the footage of people trying to climb on to a US aircraft to escape to understand how terrified people are.
“Events have been unfolding so rapidly and I just don’t know what’s going to happen next.”