One year Taliban rule in Afghanistan

New Delhi: It is going to be one year (Aug 15) since the US troops left the Afghanistan and Taliban took over the reins of the country. No country so far so has recognised their government. There is speculation of pre-conditions for reorganization even though 14 diplomatic missions are functioning in Kabul.

However, humanitarian support by most countries, international organisations and NGOs continues but they are not able to cope with the needs of the people of Afghanistan. Afghan population continue to suffer in absence of jobs, food security and human rights violations. Despite the presence of organisations like the World Food Programme, UN, ICRC, MSF and other known organisations, acute malnutrition and hunger among civilians, mostly children and women linger on.

Reports and eyewitness accounts suggest that food and basic supplies are available in markets throughout the country but residents do not have purchasing power. Human Rights Watch quoting an Afghan humanitarian official said, “People have nothing to eat. You may not imagine it, but children are starving…The situation is dire, especially if you go to the villages.” He said he knew of one family who had lost two children, ages 5 and 2, to starvation in the last two months: “This is unbelievable in 2022.” He said that he knew of no shortages in food supplies and that the causes of the crisis were economic: “A functioning banking system is an immediate and crucial need to address the humanitarian crisis.”

Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global platform for classifying food insecurity and malnutrition report suggest almost 20 million people (half the population) are suffering either level-3 “crisis” or level-4 “emergency” levels of food insecurity under the assessment system of the World Food Programme (WFP). Level-5 is acute malnutrition, a  precursor to famine.

Recently, the WFP reported that tens of thousands of people in one province, Ghor, had slipped into “catastrophic” level-5. Over one million children under 5 years of age are at risk of dying when deprived of food and are suffering from prolonged acute malnutrition, meaning that even if they survive, they face significant health problems.

Afghanistan’s economic collapse was caused by most of the industries or offices being shut down and people losing their jobs once the switchover of the government took place last August. There is a complete shortage of energy and raw materials required for the scattered industries. Most of the International businesses and embassies closed their offices. Ground reports are also suggesting that since last August, thousands of families are skipping meals or whole days of eating and engaging in extreme coping mechanisms to pay for food, including sending children to work.

WFP says that food assistance and emergency livelihood support are lifelines for the people of Afghanistan. “We mounted the world’s largest humanitarian food operation in a matter of months, reaching more than 16 million people since August 2021,” said Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP’s Country Director and Representative in Afghanistan. However, the report warned that any gains will be limited, as lingering drought and the economic crisis continue to threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions across the country.

A new report from the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released recently confirms the erosion of basic human rights across the country since the Taliban takeover in August last year, pointing out they bear responsibility for extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and violations of fundamental freedoms.

Foreign donors have suspended support

Since the Taliban takeover majority of foreign donors have suspended support for the government, humanitarian, and development sectors, including education and health. Human Rights Watch says that US and World Bank decisions to restrict Afghanistan’s banking sector have amplified the crisis by hampering most legitimate economic activities, including humanitarian efforts. The Central Bank of Afghanistan is unable to carry out basic central banking functions, including holding currency auctions, importing banknotes, and processing or settling legitimate commercial and humanitarian transactions. Because of these incapacities, even basic economic activities remain severely curtailed.

Inflation further worsens the situation

Prices for staples such as rice and wheat have almost doubled in the last three months. At the same time, prices for agricultural needs like fertilizers have doubled. Analysts say Afghanistan’s own domestic food production is set to decrease in 2022 as they have not been able to take care of their fields in absence of fertilizers, or any government or private support. It makes the situation worse as Afghanistan’s inflation and the cost is increasing by around 50 per cent increase for basic household items since July 2021.

The impact on women and girls is severe

HRW report says that restrictions on women’s basic rights to freedom of movement and work have made it difficult “even for educated women who used to be financially independent and fall particularly hard on widows. Pregnant women are badly affected by the situation because of the limited access to health care. The authorities have imposed strict restrictions on women and girls that violate their rights to education, work, health care, and freedom of movement and speech.

Recently, the Taliban ordered that all women must cover their faces in public and should only leave their homes in cases of necessity. Any violations will result in their male relatives being punished. “The latest directive by the Taliban is a further escalation of restrictions on women and girls, including impeded return to work and inability to pursue their education,” said Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women. Freedom of movement is a fundamental human right, she stated. “It is an absolute prerequisite for women’s ability to exercise the full range of their rights and to be active participants in society.

It is estimated that current restrictions on women’s employment have resulted in up to $1 billion in immediate economic losses, she said, or up to five per cent of the country’s economic output. With more than half the population requiring humanitarian assistance, amid food insecurity and malnutrition, “the latest restrictions make attempts at recovery harder, if not impossible,” she said.

Media hackled

Taliban authorities have also suppressed media and arbitrarily detained several media persons. Local reporters are under tremendous pressure. Reporter San Frontier (RSF) a media watch organisation reported that a total of 231 media outlets were reported closed and more than 6,400 journalists have lost their job since 15 August 2021. Women journalists are the hardest hit. A survey conducted by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Afghan National Journalists' Union (ANJU) revealed that “Working conditions of women journalists under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan" addresses women journalists' psychological, physical, and digital safety situation and the growing crisis of freedom of expression in the country. The survey found that: ·87% of women journalists have experienced gender discrimination during the Taliban regime ·60% of women journalists have lost their jobs and careers.

India supporting the humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

India allocated in its budget 2022-23 an amount of Rs 200 crore as development assistance to Afghanistan besides allocating Rs 100 crore for the Chabahar port project. India in June 2022 sent 27 tonnes of emergency relief assistance for the people of Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 5.9-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people. Earlier, India supplied 50,000 tonnes of wheat grain to Afghanistan. It was much delayed as the process of delivering the humanitarian aid (mostly wheat) through Pakistan’s land route became complicated. The grain was delivered to the UN agency World Food Programme for supply to Afghanistan people, The first dispatch of 50 trucks carrying wheat assistance was flagged off only in February 2022 from India to Afghanistan via Pakistan after much delay and negotiations.

In addition, India has supplied other essential food items, 1.6 tons of medicines and 500,000 COVID-19 vaccines as humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. It has pledged to supply more medicines and food grains in the coming months.

Kabul needs support as the fallout on civilians is tragic

Political pundits observing the Afghanistan situation are of the view that the Afghan people need massive support from the global actors more than ever. Currently, every second person is either hungry or malnourished. Children are dying and their future generation is going to suffer not only economically but health-wise too. Hundreds of thousands of people want to leave Afghanistan for their survival and jobs. Most of the families are separated. With further natural disasters like drought, pandemics, and earthquakes, the food security situation will continue to worsen and hunger will rise. New global issues like the Ukraine war, China-US tensions in the region and Pakistan not supporting Indian authorities in the supply of humanitarian aid to Kabul are further complicating the situation. The fallout from current issues continues to put pressure on Afghanistan’s essential food supplies, agricultural equipment and other needs. Fuel prices are rocketing up. Access to seeds, fertilizer and water for irrigation is limited. With thousands of locals leaving the shores of Afghanistan, labour opportunities are scarce, and people have incurred huge debts to buy food over the past few months. The world needs to look into the needs of the people of Afghanistan even if they differ from the ideology of the ruling political and religious party.

Way Forward

The need of the hour is to scale up the humanitarian programmes and pieces of training across Afghanistan and supply of fertilizers, agricultural equipment and seeds. Humanitarian organisations need to work with farmers and skilled workers to train and create jobs, small scale industries need raw materials and labour to support the local economy. The banking system needs support from the world bank and other global financial institutions. The people of Afghanistan need jobs. Women need security and assurance to work, and all children including girls need education and good food so that malnutrition is controlled at the beginning. This all can happen if the ruling government guarantees security and fool-proof assurance that their land will not be used for terrorism against any country in the world.