Daily Times

Finally some good news from our war-torn neighbour, Afghanistan. For the first time in the country’s volatile history, a woman has been appointed as the police chief in the capital city of Kabul. Colonel Jamila Bayaz comes with 25 years of experience and will be heading one of the most prominent police stations in the most important city in Afghanistan. This is a most welcome step in Afghanistan’s slow move towards granting women some sort of acceptable standing in society. While Jamila is not the first female police officer in the country, the fact that she has been appointed to such a prominent and important post speaks volumes of how far women have come since the torturous reign of the Taliban.

One of the few benefits of the US invasion and subsequent occupation of Afghanistan is the fact that they have managed to pull women out of the lifeless casket in which they existed under the Taliban. During that atrocious time, they were unable to go outdoors without a male guardian by their side and a burqa on their bodies. At least the US invasion banished this orthodox mentality and extended women’s rights to education and employment, even nurturing them to take on dangerous and high-risk jobs such as those belonging to law enforcement and the security agencies. That is where women like Ms Bayaz step in, taking the reins of the future of their country. However, it will be a long, uphill battle. Many policewomen have been killed in the country, including senior police officers, slaughtered by the Taliban who cannot stand to see women outside of their homes. The fear now is that once US forces withdraw in July this year, all this effort to empower women may just have been in vain. With the US and NATO troops leaving Afghanistan in a few months time, the Taliban will leave no stone unturned to wrestle back power. This is particularly worrying for women who have strived and worked hard to gain the fraction of their authority and respect in society. With one fell swoop, they could see all their dreams and hopes vanish once again. Even though the US and NATO are training the Afghan national army, the fear is that there will be mass defections as instances have occurred where soldiers have turned their guns on the foreign troops. Who is to say where this pendulum will swing once the withdrawal date passes? Come what may, it is vital that the government and security forces in Afghanistan stand their ground once the international forces leave — after all, the biggest casualty of past Taliban rule have been the Afghan women. *