The Taliban on Tuesday, August 17, declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join its government.
The announcement was made by Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission. It represents the first comments on governance from a federal level across the country after the Taliban took over.
This is seen as an attempt to calm nerves across the capital that only the day before saw chaos at its airport as people tried to flee their rule.
Since the Taliban overthrew the government, many residents have stayed home and remain fearful after the insurgents’ takeover saw prisons emptied and armories looted.
Older generations remember the Taliban’s ultraconservative Islamic views, which included stonings, amputations and public executions during their rule before the US-led invasion that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
However, speaking on Tuesday, Samangani said: “The Islamic Emirate doesn’t want women to be victims. They should be in government structure according to Shariah law.”
He added: “The structure of government is not fully clear, but based on experience, there should be a fully Islamic leadership and all sides should join.”
Samangani remained vague on other details, however, implying people already knew the rules of Islamic law the Taliban expected them to follow.
“Our people are Muslims and we are not here to force them to Islam,” he said.
