Afghanistan’s new rulers- Taliban have launched a “purification” campaign across the country to replace civil laws with Islamic ones, writes Susannah George in The Washington Post
When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the group quickly launched what officials called a “purification” campaign aimed at stripping the country of civil laws and institutions to build an entirely Islamic society. A year and a half later, the Taliban has gutted the country’s justice system by scrapping the constitution and replacing the legal code with rules based on a draconian interpretation of Islamic law, said Georges.
The Taliban has filled prisons to overflowing, deprived men and women of basic civil rights, and eroded social safety nets meant to protect the most vulnerable Afghans.
It is also seeking to transform the media, using it to promote its vision for the country and restricting content deemed un-Islamic, including music and the presence of women, reported The Washington Post. Critics say that this effort has replaced a social order based on rights with one maintained by fear and intimidation. Taliban officials and some Afghans credit the campaign with improving security and eliminating corruption, reported The Washington Post. “We have returned humanity to the country,” said Mawlewi Ahmad Shah Fedayii, a prominent imam with close ties to the Taliban, speaking outside his mosque in Afghanistan’s second city of Kandahar.