Sahar Education, a local nonprofit group, was in the process of building a new boarding school for girls in northern Afghanistan – until the Taliban regained control of the capital on Aug. 15. That's when Sahar decided to pause all operations. It stopped construction of the school and removed anything from its website that might reveal the identities of its students and staffers. Sahar worried it could be targeted for educating Afghan girls, an activity the Taliban banned when it ruled the country in the 1990s — as well as for its partnership with the previous government. The group was helping them build and repair schools."All our staff went home because they felt scared for their lives," says Malahat, Sahar's executive director. Malahat, who is from Afghanistan, asked us not to publish her last name for her safety. Sahar is one many groups that has suspended operations in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover and ensuing violence. Meanwhile, other aid and development organizations are still operating. Whatever their current status, they all recognize that a new reality is unfolding — and that their future in the country depends on whether the Taliban government of 2021 echoes the previous repressive Taliban regime or lives up to promises of a more progressive outlook. Life has improved significantly in Afghanistan since the Taliban was ousted in 2001. For instance, between 2003 and 2015, mortality for kids under age 5 in Afghanistan fell by 29% (from 127.8 to 91 deaths per thousand live births), according to a 2016 study in The Lancet Global Health. And school enrollment grew from 900,000 male students in 2001 to more than 9.5 million children in 2020, nearly 40% of which were girls, according to data from USAID. Nongovernmental organizations (NGO) have supported many of these advances. The NGOs play a "critical role" in providing vital services such as health care and education – "and provide the momentum for Afghanistan's development," according to a 2020 report from the Overseas Development Institute, a global development think tank. The Taliban says it has changed, too. "There is a huge difference between us now and 20 years ago," said spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid at an Aug. 17 press conference in Kabul. "Nobody will be harmed in Afghanistan."But it's not just physical danger that's the issue. In addition to the mass executions and brutality that marked the Taliban regime, the group also enforced a notoriously severe interpretation of Islamic law. Girls were barred from school. Many women couldn't go to work. This time around, Mujahid said the Taliban promises peace, amnesty for enemies, media freedom (as long as journalists don't write anything against Islamic values) and respect for women's rights "but within the framework of Islam."Despite these assurances, observers in the international development community are deeply skeptical. So far, no students or teachers from Sahar have been directly attacked by the Taliban.
All data is taken from the source: http://npr.org
Article Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/08/26/1030691740/aid-groups-wonder-whether-to-stay-or-go-as-taliban-takes-over-afghanistan
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