When the Taliban first came to Afghanistan, they claimed to have great ideas, especially about women. But now we call the Taliban’s time of rule “The Dark Period” because they committed so many inhuman acts against the Afghan people and our historic sites.

The Taliban originally claimed that they would help women and that women and men should have equal rights. The Afghan people were persuaded by their words. The Taliban promised women that anarchy in the country would last only six months longer and then the Taliban would bring security and rule Afghanistan in an Islamic way.

However, they said that for those six months women should leave their jobs and stay at home and after six months women would get their freedom.

People trusted them, maybe because we were tired of war with the Soviet Union and the Mujahideen or maybe because they had demonstrated good deeds. Afghan people wanted someone to take control and end the anarchy; we were much like the French after the French Revolution. But as soon as the Taliban gained control of the government, they forgot their promises. We suffered for our misplaced trust.

Taliban in Kabul

In March 1995, the Taliban invited the leader of the Hazara people, Abdul Ali Mazari, to talk with them, but they cut off his ears and nose and then hanged him. By 1996, they had complete control of Kabul and Afghanistan.

They took Kabul very easily, using guns and killing the president, Najeeb. Then, on September 9, 2001, two men disguised as reporters and carrying a gun that looked like a camera killed the leader of Mujahideen, Ahmad Shah Massoud.  

Now, the Afghan people had lost two of their heroes, Mazari and Massoud. The people also lost hope. The Taliban had taken over the country in such a short time, collecting the people’s weapons so they could no longer protect themselves.

After taking Kabul, the Taliban published new rules. The punishments for those who did not follow the rules were hanging, shooting, stoning of women, and cutting off the hands of a thief.

Some of the Taliban’s new rules:

• Women must wear chadari (burqa) so men cannot see even their hands.
• A woman cannot leave the home without her husband’s permission.
• Girls are prohibited from attending school, except for mosque school.
• Women are banned from working outside the home and must stay home with the children.
• Men must wear turbans and should not cut their moustaches.
• Men should support the family and take care of their wives.
• The hands of a robber will be chopped off and criminals will be hanged in public.
• All media except for radio and newspapers were banned.

Taliban rule turned women into birds in a cage, stuck within the walls of their homes. The Taliban believed that women were feeble-minded and suited only for raising children and working for their husbands. There were no choices in this. Under the Taliban, women were slaves to men, nothing else. And after a while, women began to believe that these views were true.

Taliban in Bamiyan

After taking over the government, the Taliban eventually gained control of every corner of the country except the northeast provinces of Badakhshan and Panjshir. The Mujahideen, through Ahmad Shah Masoud, had a stronghold in these areas, but the Taliban finally took Panjshir when they killed Masoud.  

In 1997, they seized Bamiyan province, home to a large number of members of the Hazara ethnic group, and the people were frightened. First they disarmed the people and then told the Hazara, who are mostly Shia, that they were not true Muslims. They ordered the Hazara to convert to the Sunni sect or leave Afghanistan. They did not agree, and day by day, as the Taliban’s rule became stronger, they began killing the men.

In 1999, the Taliban killed many thousands of Bamiyan men and they divided fields belonging to the Hazara people and gave the land to the Kuchi people. The Kuchi are nomadic and owned very little, and they have clashed with Hazara for many decades over grazing rights for their camels and herds. But now the Kuchi had supporters in government, weapons, and more power and they had land they could use as pasture.

Many Bamiyan people wanted to leave the country, but they did not know where to go. By then the Taliban had permeated every corner of Afghanistan. They gave the Hazara people three choices:

1. They could accept the Sunni religion.
2. They could go to Iran.
3. They could go to the grave.

By Kamilah

Photo: Taliban religious police beating a woman in Kabul on August 26, 2001 (RAWA.org). The Taliban Takeover, part 2, will recount the experiences of two Afghan girls when they fled Bamiyan with their families.

Editor’s note: One of our writers interviewed an Afghan man who married a young woman to prevent her from having to accept marriage into a powerful Taliban family. This is his story, as told to our writer. Identifying details are withheld  for their security.

I heard her soft and kind voice for the first time when she was reading in a poetry program. There were so many people sitting in front of me that I couldn’t see her, but when she finished reading her poem I stood up. I could only see a pair of eyes; the rest was covered in a long black hijab and a chador.

I went home thinking of this woman—Sara—and her voice. I saw her another day and tried to talk with her, but she acted like she didn’t want to talk to me. We couldn’t communicate at the university because a boy talking with a girl is a crime. Even academics think that a boy and girl talking would end in a sexual relationship.

I took her phone number and tried to call her. I wanted her to become a member of my family. I thought that I would propose her for my cousin. He would be the luckiest man to marry such a brave and talented girl.

Sara would not talk to me on the telephone. She had a secret phone, but could only use it when she was away from home. After many difficulties I was able to contact her, but sensed that she was hiding something and was afraid to share it with me. After a time, in a low voice, she told me that she cannot marry my cousin because her family was going to marry her to a close relative in N___’s family very soon.

The marriage was not her choice. Her family decided that because N___’s family was rich and had a powerful reputation, he would be a good match. She had to respect her family’s decision.

I was shocked to hear this. I asked her for some of her poems, but she said she cannot write them on paper. Her writing was a secret from her family and she memorized all her poems. I was curious how she could study with these conflicts in her family. As we spoke, she told me more about herself and said that she was going to accept the marriage.

I told her that she must find a way out of this arrangement. We began discussing solutions. And then she asked me if I could marry her. It was shocking to hear such a proposal from a girl. These were such brave words and I thought, “I am dreaming.”

Out of respect for her, her bravery, and the tolerance I saw in her, I decided to help her. I wanted to give her the happiness she deserved, so I married her. Because of my childhood and the honest love I received from my mother, I respect women. I believe men should love and respect them. This is what I believed when I married Sara.

I thought saving a girl from cruelty was my job. I didn’t know that it would destroy me and bring a wild storm into my family. I didn’t know that with this marriage I was throwing stones into a house of wild poisonous snakes.

We could not live as a newly married couple. Our honeymoon was spent in hiding. Shortly thereafter, we learned that N___’s family had decided to kill us. They not only wanted to kill us, but stone us to death to teach women and girls a lesson.

Sara also wanted to teach a lesson. She wanted to stand up and to say “No”; to defend her own rights and be respected for her choices.

We knew that we were going to be killed. We escaped. All the problems began to fall on my family.

To get revenge on us, N___’s family asked to have my sister instead of Sara. My sister is eighteen. She still paints butterflies in her notebooks. She is a child. She needs more than eighteen years to understand life.

For revenge again and to further make us understand that we cannot make decisions about our own lives, they killed my fourteen-year-old brother R___. They tortured him, stabbed him, and cut out his eyes.

R___ was the baby of our family. My father called him Afghani Einstein because he was very clever in math. He was like a son to me. Killing my brother is like taking half of my body. It is a cruel and wild punishment.

Because I helped a girl, my family must pay a high price. My family is lost and worried. They cannot make a decision when confronted with N___’s power, guns, and money.

I have lost my family, my job, and my country. The worst is when I think of my brother with such deep sorrow in my heart. He rests in a cold grave under bloody soil.

I remember his childhood; his naughty days making faces in front of the mirror, playing games and asking for money or chocolate in the middle of the night. He didn’t know anything about life. He was full of future dreams. He pictured a long life, but that was taken from him. Now my mother looks at his football picture album and his clothes and cries.

We cannot negotiate with N___ because we are fighting against hatred and ignorance. He has no heart to accept our words.

When I think how we are helpless in preventing my sister from marrying the 49-year-old son of N___, it kills me. I am enraged and frustrated at a culture allows this. N___ told his sons: “It is my decision to marry you three times and the fourth wife is your choice.” No one hears our anger. N___ can buy everybody and end the lives of my family members.

I believe tolerance makes a man. I am proud and happy that I am not like N___. I am proud that I respect women as gifts and angels who come from the sky to brighten the world. I am proud to respect humans for upholding their rights and freedoms.

By Anonymous

Photo: Staff Sgt. Kaily Brown/U.S. Dept. of Defense

You were my green world
You took my hands and taught me to stand 
Exhorted me to find my way, myself.

You patient smile was there while
Everywhere there was war, everyone was fighting,
Even nature was harsh,
The sky grimy and dark,
The grasses burned.
But I was far away from bombing and shooting
In your safe embrace
As your lullaby faded the darkness.

I remember the days when we walked in our garden;
Your advice still clear in my mind:

People are unmerciful,
But you should be kind.
The world is a mystery,
But you should be an explorer.  

God created you with special beauty
Now I will have a chance to make you happy
And see you smile.

By Kamilah

Photo: Massoud Hossaini/AFP/Getty Images