Women claim to be ‘controlled’ by West in Taliban video confession

THE Taliban have released video clips of Afghan women’s rights activists apparently confessing to being controlled by exiles in the West, prompting condemnation from campaigners who said the women appeared to be frightened and under pressure during their alleged admissions.

In an apparent attempt to discredit protests against the new regime, Afghanistan’s ministry of interior released the clips, in which several women said they were encouraged to protest against the Taliban government by activists based abroad.

Samira Hamidi, Amnesty’s Afghanistan campaigner, said she knew several of the women and that they had taken part in protests against Taliban rule since the group’s takeover last August.

She said: “You watch the video and you can clearly see that these women are under a lot of pressure. Their voices are shaking. They are not even looking at the camera.” Highly publicised demonstrations by women protesting against restrictions, including being forced out of work or girls being blocked from secondary school, have become a thorn in the side of the Taliban government.

While the demonstrations have been small, they have been widely reported and appeared to stiffen international resolve against recognising the Taliban’s restored Islamic emirate. Diplomats say women’s rights have been high on the agenda of recent meetings with the Taliban, including three days of talks in Olso last month.

“These women are ones who have led a lot of international attention to the situation of women in Afghanistan,” said Ms Hamidi. As patience appeared to run out with the protests, fighters have used force to break up gatherings, and campaigners say several demonstrators are still missing after they were taken from their homes in Kabul last month.

The Taliban deny taking the women and its officials have in the past accused protestors of faking persecution to strengthen asylum claims to the West.

The video appeared to be a new attempt to undermine the protests, said Ms Hamidi. “This is defaming any effort that women are putting together to speak about women’s rights in Afghanistan,” she said.

The two-minute video shows about a dozen women protestors, with several saying they had been encouraged by named Afghan women’s rights activists living in Europe or America.

One woman said: “They told us we have to talk against the emirate. For example we have to say this is not a good government, they use violence on people. We were guided by them.”