2 March 2023

In Afghanistan, increased repression causes fatigue and international backlash

Meladul Haq Ahmadzai

In the last three months, in Afghanistan, we continue to see increased repression of women’s rights because of the Taliban takeover. With all the bans on the education and public sector for not allowing women to work or go to school has resulted in international backlash. Moreover, life expectancy for children and for most Afghans in general will continue to degrade if the issue is left unchecked.

According to the Crisis Group, “Two thirds of the population, or 28 million people” needing essential aid like food, water, shelter and healthcare to survive. The humanitarian crisis appears to only be getting worsened. According to OCHA, in 2022, 24.4 million people required aid, but today, it is estimated that some 28.3 million people are in need (an increase of 3.9 million population).

My initial analysis shows that increased repression causes fatigue which leads to hunger, and results in life expectancy to degrade among Afghan population. Furthermore, this shows that Taliban’s ban on education and on NGO workers are both negative contributing factors; that is, causing life expectancy to lower. However, this trend will continue to hurt the Afghans if action by the international community is not forcefully enforced. While the international community has been monitoring the situation for quite some time, but the Taliban continues to take the shots, with no justification.

In conclusion, all this means that while the humanitarian situation can be contained, however, the main issue at the present time is removing the ban on women and girls and NGO workers. In Afghanistan, increased repression causes fatigue and international backlash, which needs urgent attention currently.

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