logo
How ordinary men became unpaid Taliban enforcers in their own homes

How ordinary men became unpaid Taliban enforcers in their own homes

The Guardian2 days ago

To be a father of daughters in the Taliban's Afghanistan has become a daily nightmare for Amir. Now, he says, he is more prison guard than loving parent, an unwilling and unpaid enforcer of a system of gender apartheid that he despises yet feels compelled to inflict on his two teenage girls in order to protect them from the Taliban's rage and reprisals.
Just a few years ago, Amir's daughters had a life and a future. They went to school, to see friends and moved around their community. Now, he says he would prefer it if his daughters never left the house. He, like many other fathers in Afghanistan, has heard stories about what can happen to young women who find themselves in the crosshairs of the Taliban's 'morality police'.
In the rare instances when their begging and pleading to be allowed out in the world gets too much for him, he ensures they go accompanied by a male member of the family and are fully covered.
'I insist that they wear the hijab and I tell them they are not allowed to laugh outside the house or at the market,' he says. 'The 'morality police' are very strict, and if they don't comply, they might get detained.'
Last summer, three years after they swept to power in August 2021, the scale of the Taliban's ambition to erase women from public life was laid bare in their unveiling of an extensive set of 'vice and virtue' laws.
Under the new rules, women were told to cover themselves completely when outside the house; not to allow their voices to be heard talking loudly; to only appear in public with a male escort and never to look at a man who was not their direct relation.
When the rules were announced, it was unclear how a relatively small number of 'morality police' employed by the Taliban would enforce and implement these rules.
Yet, in the months since the rules were announced, it has been fathers, brothers and husbands who have become, in effect, unpaid foot soldiers imposing the Taliban's oppressive regime on Afghanistan's women and girls.
They are driven not just by fear of what will happen to women if apprehended by Taliban enforcers. Under the Taliban's new rules, if a woman is deemed to be found in breach of its morality rules, it is her male relative, not her, who could be punished and face fines or even prison.
The Guardian and Rukhshana Media spoke to more than a dozen men, as well as young women across Afghanistan, about how the Taliban's morality laws were changing their attitudes and behaviours towards the women in their families.
'Men have become unpaid soldiers of the Taliban,' says Jawid Hakimi, from Bamyan province. 'We are forced, for the sake of our honour, reputation and social standing, to enforce the Taliban's orders on the women in our families. Day by day, society is adjusting to the Taliban's rules, and their restrictions [on women] are gradually reshaping society according to their vision – and we feel compelled to align our families with their expectations. It is a suffocating atmosphere.'
Parwiz, a young man from a province in the north-east of Afghanistan says when his sister was detained by the Taliban's 'morality police' for not wearing a hijab, he was terrified for her safety and determined that this would never happen again.
'I was forced to go to the police station, where I was insulted and told I had to do whatever the Taliban said,' he says. 'When I came home, I took out all my anger and frustration on my mother and sister.'
Other men who spoke of how the fear of social shame if they were punished for 'immoral' behaviour was spilling over into repression and violence towards their female family members.
Freshta, a young woman from Badakhshan province, says she is beaten by her husband if she leaves the house, even to get food at the market. 'I went to the corner of the street to buy vegetables and I had put on a long, black hijab but no burqa. When I returned, he hit me across the face and beat me.
He said: 'Do you want us to break the rules? What if one of my work colleagues saw you?' For months now I have barely left the house. He says if I do leave I need to wear the burqa.'
Rabia, 22, says he cannot risk the family facing the 'dishonour' of his elder sister Maryam going out and people thinking that she is dressed immodestly.
'Our pride doesn't allow it. We have shame, we have honour. We can't bear the thought that, God forbid, something might be said about her in the city or the market,' he says.
Young women spoke of the pain of their families turning into enforcers of a morality code imposed on them by an extremist ideology that had already stripped them of their right to education, work and self-autonomy.
'My father's behaviour changed after the Taliban came. Before that, he didn't care much about our [his daughters'] clothing,' says 25-year-old Masha. 'Before, he never told us not to wear something or to avoid certain places, but as soon as the Taliban came he changed. He said: 'If you consider me your father and care about the dignity of your family you will wear the hijab. Don't wear makeup, not even a strand of your hair should be visible, don't wear high-heeled shoes, and you don't need to go out so often. Tell me or your brothers so we can get it for you from the market,'' she says.
'So now every time I have my period I have to go without sanitary products or medicine. I just stay inside.'
Richard Bennett, the UN's special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan says that, while he has documented 'acts of resistance' from Afghan men against the Taliban's institutionalised repression of women, 'within families, male family members are increasingly enforcing restrictions on their female relatives, and more women report needing permission to leave their homes. There are also increasing reports of female family members ensuring compliance.'
'The presence of de facto officials and suspected informers in communities, the threat of constant surveillance and the unpredictability of enforcement are further contributing to feelings of insecurity, heightening psychological stress and anxiety, especially among young women,' he says.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Hegseth jokes about US allies doing nothing in Afghanistan – despite hundreds losing their lives
Hegseth jokes about US allies doing nothing in Afghanistan – despite hundreds losing their lives

The Independent

timean hour ago

  • The Independent

Hegseth jokes about US allies doing nothing in Afghanistan – despite hundreds losing their lives

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to make light of the contributions made by America's NATO allies during the war in Afghanistan at a Capitol Hill hearing on Wednesday. Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth attempted to make a point that the White House and President Donald Trump himself have frequently made: that other NATO member-states should increase their defensive capabilities to match the benchmarks laid out in the defense pact's charter. Instead, the secretary harked back to a remark he told Sen. Chris Coons (D-Conn.) was commonly made by US service members on the ground in Afghanistan during his time in the service. Hegseth said his fellow Army National Guardsmen would often joke that the ISAF acronym on their shoulder patches — which stood for International Security Assistance Force — really stood for, 'I saw Americans fighting.' 'Ultimately it was a lotta flags. Lotta flags. [But it] was not a lot of on-the-ground capability,' Hegseth continued in disparaging the NATO troops. 'You're not a real coalition, you're not a real alliance, unless you have real defense capability, and real armies that can bring those to bear.' His remark drew immediate rebuke from Coons, who noted the military and human contributions that America's allies made after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when NATO's Article 5 was invoked for the first time. The Democratic senator launched into an explanation about how Denmark, with a population of just six million, suffered some of the highest losses per capita of any coalition ally, only closely trailing the United States. 'Let's just make clear for the record that our military partners in Afghanistan included many who served and died,' said the senator. But Hegseth wasn't finished. 'Don't try and make it look like I don't care about the investments of our partners,' said the secretary. 'Of course I do. I recognize that there were lives lost from other countries. But the bulk of the effort was Americans.' Alongside the US, 31 other countries participated in the war in Afghanistan and saw soldiers killed in combat and due to other circumstances. The U.S. lost 2,461 troops over the course of the longest military engagement in U.S. history, followed by the UK, which lost 457 service members. The final deaths of the war occurred during a chaotic withdrawal from the country in 2021, following the fall of large tracts of territory to Taliban militants the U.S .and its allies failed to dislodge over the course of 20 years. A blast attributed to Islamic State militants killed more than a dozen US service members outside of Kabul's airport during the evacuation, while thousands of desperate Afghans crowded the facility and sought exit on American planes. America's participation in the war grew unpopular as it dragged on, and the withdrawal of forces was ordered by Donald Trump during his first presidency. Completed under Joe Biden, the chaotic nature of the pullout and the speed of the collapse of Afghanistan's democratic government were points of soreness and contention in Washington, with defense hawks fretting that the Taliban takeover amounted to the country turning into a breeding ground for al Qaeda, the Islamic State and other terror groups once again. Britain's House of Commons library reports that the total cost of UK contributions to the war topped 32.8 billion pounds, adjusted for 2024-25 price levels. Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees were also resettled by the UK and other US partners. In 2021 and the two years following, Afghan refugees were the most common nationality accepted by the Home Office, according to the government's figures. The Trump administration in January froze a program allowing Afghan citizens who helped the US during the war against the Taliban, Islamic State and Al Qaeda to resettle in America.

Syria government says women must wear burkinis at public beaches
Syria government says women must wear burkinis at public beaches

BBC News

time5 hours ago

  • BBC News

Syria government says women must wear burkinis at public beaches

Syria's Islamist-led interim government has decreed that women must wear burkinis - a swimsuit that covers the body except for the face, hands and feet - or other "decent" clothes at public beaches and swimming state news channel Al-Ikhbariyah al-Suriyah said the regulations, issued by the tourism ministry, were "aimed at enhancing public safety standards and preserving public decency".Private beaches, clubs and pools, and hotels with more than four stars, are exempt, the directive often dress modestly on public beaches in Syria, but some women do opt for more Western styles of swimwear. Under the new directive, beachgoers and visitors to public pools must wear "more modest swimwear", specifying "the burkini or swimming clothes that cover more of the body".The decree added that women should wear a cover-up or loose clothing over their swimwear when they move between swimming areas."Travelling in swimwear outside the beach without appropriate cover is prohibited," it should also wear a shirt when they are not swimming, and are not allowed to be bare-chested in public areas outside swimming beaches, pools and clubs, as well as hotels that have four stars or more, are exempted, with the statement saying "normal Western swimwear" was generally allowed in these places "within the limits of public taste".More generally, people should wear loose clothing that covers the shoulders and knees and "avoid transparent and tight clothing", the decree directive did not say whether those who did not follow the rules would be penalised or how the rules would be also included other safety regulations around pools and December last year, Islamist rebel forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime, bringing years of civil war to an then, al-Sharaa, now the country's interim president, has promised to run the country in an inclusive an interview with the BBC shortly after he took power, he said he believed in education for women and denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan - which has severely curtailed women's March al-Sharaa signed a constitutional declaration covering a five-year transitional document said Islam was the religion of the president, as the previous constitution did, and Islamic jurisprudence was "the main source of legislation", rather than "a main source".The declaration also guaranteed women's rights, freedom of expression and media freedom.

Sidhu Moose Wala: Gangster tells BBC why India's biggest hip-hop star was murdered
Sidhu Moose Wala: Gangster tells BBC why India's biggest hip-hop star was murdered

BBC News

time15 hours ago

  • BBC News

Sidhu Moose Wala: Gangster tells BBC why India's biggest hip-hop star was murdered

It was a killing that shocked India: Punjabi hip-hop star Sidhu Moose Wala shot dead through the windscreen of his car by hired hours, a Punjabi gangster named Goldy Brar had used Facebook to claim responsibility for ordering the three years after the murder, no-one has faced trial - and Goldy Brar is still on the run, his whereabouts BBC Eye has managed to make contact with Brar and challenged him about how and why Sidhu Moose Wala became a response was coldly articulate."In his arrogance, he [Moose Wala] made some mistakes that could not be forgiven," Brar told the BBC World Service."We had no option but to kill him. He had to face the consequences of his actions. It was either him or us. As simple as that." On a warm May evening in 2022, Sidhu Moose Wala was taking his black Mahindra Thar SUV for its usual spin through dusty lanes near his village in the northern Indian state of Punjab when, within minutes, two cars began tailing footage later showed them weaving through narrow turns, sticking close. Then, at a bend in the road, one of the vehicles lurched forward, cornering Moose Wala's SUV against a wall. He was trapped. Moments later, the shooting footage captured the aftermath. His SUV was riddled with bullets, the windscreen shattered, the bonnet trembling voices, bystanders expressed their shock and concern."Someone get him out of the car.""Get some water.""Moose Wala has been shot."But it was too late. He was declared dead on arrival at hospital - hit by 24 bullets, a post-mortem would later reveal. The 28-year-old rapper, one of modern-day Punjab's biggest cultural icons, had been gunned down in broad daylight.A cousin and a friend who had been in the car with Moose Wala at the time of the ambush were injured, but gunmen were eventually identified. They carried AK-47s and pistols. In the weeks that followed the murder, about 30 people were arrested and two of the suspected armed men were killed in what the Indian police described as "encounters".Yet even with arrests piling up, the motive remained Brar, who claims to have ordered the hit, wasn't in India at the time of the killing. He is believed to have been in conversation with him unfolded over six hours, pieced together through an exchange of voice notes. It gave us a chance to find out why Moose Wala had been killed and to interrogate the motives of the man who claimed responsibility. Sidhu Moose Wala was born Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu in a Jat-Sikh family in rural Punjab, before moving in 2016 to Canada to study engineering - a journey familiar to hundreds of thousands in the Punjabi it was there, far from his village of Moosa - the inspiration for his rap name - that he reinvented himself as one of Punjabi music's most influential artists. In just five years, Moose Wala became the unmistakable voice of Punjabi his signature swagger, flashy style, and lyrical grit, Moose Wala sang openly about identity and politics, guns and revenge, pushing the boundaries of what Punjabi music had been willing to was fascinated by rapper Tupac Shakur, who had been murdered, aged 25, in 1996. "In terms of personality, I want to be like him," Moose Wala once told an interviewer. "The day he died, people cried for him. I want the same. When I die, people should remember that I was someone."Over a brief but explosive career, the singer spotlighted the darker undercurrents of India's Punjab region - gangster culture, unemployment, and political decay - while evoking a deep nostalgia for village Wala was also a global force. With more than five billion views of his music videos on YouTube, a Top 5 spot in the UK charts, and collaborations with international hip-hop artists including Burna Boy, Moose Wala swiftly built a fan base stretching across India, Canada, the UK and beyond, powered by a diaspora that saw him as both icon and fame came at a cost. Despite his rising star and socially conscious lyrics, Moose Wala was drifting into dangerous territory. His defiant attitude, visibility, and growing influence had drawn the attention of Punjab's most feared gangsters. These included Goldy Brar, and Brar's friend Lawrence Bishnoi, who even then was in high-security jail in much is known about Brar, apart from the fact he is on the Interpol Red Notice list, and is a key operative in a network of gangsters operated by Bishnoi – orchestrating hits, issuing threats and amplifying the gang's reach. It is thought he emigrated to Canada in 2017, just a year after Moose Wala himself, and initially worked as a truck once a student leader steeped in Punjab's violent campus politics, has grown into one of India's most feared criminal masterminds. "The first [police] cases filed against Lawrence Bishnoi were all related to student politics and student elections… beating a rival student leader, kidnapping him, harming him," according to Jupinderjit Singh, deputy editor of Indian newspaper the led to a spell in jail which hardened him further, says Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, Assistant Inspector General of the Anti-Gangster Task Force of Punjab Police."Once he was in jail, he started to get deeper into crime. Then he formed a group of his own. When it became an inter-gang thing, he needed money for survival. They need more manpower, they need more weapons. They need money for all that. So, for money, you have to get into extortion or crime."Now 31, Bishnoi runs his syndicate from behind bars - with dedicated Instagram pages and a cult-like following."So while Bishnoi sits in jail, Brar handles the gangs," says Assistant Inspector General BBC Eye's exchange with Brar took a year of chasing - cultivating sources, waiting for replies, gradually getting closer to the kingpin himself. But when we got through to Brar, the conversation cast new light on the question of how and why he and Bishnoi came to see Moose Wala as an enemy. One of the first revelations was that Bishnoi's relationship with Moose Wala went back several years, long before the singer's killing."Lawrence [Bishnoi] was in touch with Sidhu [Moose Wala]. I don't know who introduced them, and I never asked. But they did speak," said Brar."Sidhu used to send 'good morning' and 'good night' messages in an effort to flatter Lawrence."A friend of Moose Wala's, who spoke anonymously, also told us that Bishnoi had been in touch with Moose Wala as early as 2018, calling him from jail and telling him he liked his told us that the "first dispute" between them came after Moose Wala had moved back to India. It began with a seemingly innocuous match of kabbadi - a traditional South Asian contact team sport - in a Punjabi village. Moose Wala had promoted the tournament which was organised by Bishnoi's rivals - the Bambiha gang - Brar told us, in a sport where match-fixing and gangster influence are rampant."That's a village our rivals come from. He was promoting our rivals. That's when Lawrence and others were upset with him. They threatened Sidhu and said they wouldn't spare him," Brar told BBC the dispute between Moose Wala and Bishnoi was eventually resolved by an associate of Bishnoi's called Vicky Middhukhera. But when Middukhera himself was gunned down by gangsters in a parking lot in Mohali in August 2021, Brar told us Bishnoi's hostility towards Sidhu Moose Wala reached the point of no Bambiha gang claimed responsibility for killing Middukhera. The police named Moose Wala's friend and sometime manager Shaganpreet Singh on the charge sheet, citing evidence that Singh had provided information and logistical support to the gunmen. Singh later fled India and is believed to be in Australia. Moose Wala denied any Punjab police told the BBC there was no evidence linking Moose Wala to the killing or to any gang-related crime. But Moose Wala was friends with Shaganpreet Singh, and he was never able to shake off the perception that he was aligned with the Bambiha gang - a perception that may have cost him his he can cite no proof of Moose Wala's involvement, Brar remains convinced that the singer was somehow complicit in the killing of Middukhera. Brar repeatedly told us that Shaganpreet Singh had assisted the gunmen in the days before Middukhera's shooting - and inferred that Moose Wala himself must have been involved."Everyone knew Sidhu's role, the police investigating knew, even the journalists who were investigating knew. Sidhu mixed with politicians and people in power. He was using political power, money, his resources to help our rivals," Brar told BBC Eye."We wanted him to face punishment for what he'd done. He should have been booked. He should have been jailed. But nobody listened to our plea."So we took it upon ourselves. When decency falls on deaf ears, it's the gunshot that gets heard."We put it to Brar that India has a judicial system and the rule of law - how could he justify taking the law into his own hands?"Law. Justice. There's no such thing," he says. "Only the powerful can... [obtain] justice, not ordinary people like us."He went on to say that even Vicky Middukhera's brother, despite being in politics, has struggled to get justice through India's judicial system."He's a clean guy. He tried hard to get justice for his brother lawfully. Please call him and ask how that's going."He appeared unrepentant."I did what I had to do for my brother. I have no remorse whatsoever." Outside the UK, watch on YouTube, or listen on The killing of Moose Wala has not just resulted in the loss of a major musical talent, it has also emboldened Punjab's the singer's murder, few outside Punjab had heard of Bishnoi or the killing, their names were everywhere. They hijacked Moose Wala's fame and converted it into their own brand of notoriety - a notoriety that became a powerful tool for extortion."This is the biggest killing that has happened in the last few decades in Punjab," says Ritesh Lakhi, a Punjab-based journalist. "The capacity of gangsters to extort money has gone up. [Goldy Brar]'s getting huge sums of money after killing Moose Wala."Journalist Jupinderjit Singh agrees: "The fear factor around gangsters has risen amongst the public." Extortion has long been a problem in the Punjabi music industry, but now after Sidhu's murder, Singh says: "It's not just people in the music and film industry who are being extorted - even local businessmen are receiving calls."When BBC Eye quizzed Brar on this, he denied this was the motive, but died admit - in stark terms - that extortion was central to the gang's working."To feed a family of four a man has to struggle all his life. We have to look after hundreds or even thousands of people who are like family to us. We have to extort people."To get money," he says, "we have to be feared."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store