"I wish you had killed me, not humiliated me like this"

Report: Ali Gul "Lamar Niazi" - Afghan journalist in exile Islamabad - Pakistan

After the release of this video, thousands of Afghans in Afghanistan and abroad expressed different reactions. The common point of the critics' comments was that: cutting the head and mustache of an Afghan youth with coercion, insult and humiliation is unacceptable. According to them, this is not only a kind of desert act against the laws of Afghanistan and international humanitarian principles; But this work also means negating the values ​​of local native culture of Afghans.

Having long hair, and a big and crooked mustache is an ancient tradition of Pashtuns. This tradition is still followed in the south-east of Afghanistan, especially in Khost province.

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On November 12, 2023, a video was published on the accounts of a large number of Afghan social media users, in which three Taliban gunmen cut the long hair/hair and mustache of an Afghan youth inside a military post. He misbehaves with her. In this more than two-minute video, which was recorded by the Taliban gunmen and made its way to social media; It seems that a 30-year-old young man is surrounded by armed gunmen with scissors and mockingly cutting his long black hair and thin mustache.

In addition to this disturbing scene of photography, the conversation with the affected person by these armed people also clearly confirms the violence, insult and anti-human dignity behavior.

The victim in this case is named Shazullah, he is around 30 years old and a resident of "Dargi" village in Tanyo district of Khost province in the south-east of Afghanistan.

Although the original source and date of publication of the said video is not known, but when it was published on the Facebook page of an Afghan media organization called Zawiyah News on November 12, the social media of Afghanistan was blocked for several days. It became a serious topic of discussion among users. The said video was seen by tens of thousands of people on various social media pages, it was re-shared by thousands of Facebook and X (former Twitter) accounts in a very short time, and thousands of Afghans expressed serious critical views on it from different angles.

One of the hundreds of commenters on this post, a person named Shams Banuri, wrote: (The animals of the mountains and caves have been imposed. No one is aware of humanity, civilization and human rights. May Allah bless these animals and their supporters. Amen, Amen, Amen.

Another commenter Minwaldin Bawari wrote to him that such actions are against all principles: There is no court, no jail, no complaint. It shows people that we did that.

Another Facebook user named Amanullah Ehsaas commented on a poem and wrote that the time of Taliban (religious clerics) repression will pass, then this snake will not have poisonous teeth. :((Tell this young man not to shed tears, hold your head high, darkness comes to everyone, followed by light, and the morning is certain. The time will come when the tooth will not be poisoned. – Mansour will walk drunkenly, there will be no back! ))

Among the youths belonging to Shazullah's "Taniyo" tribe, this tradition and tradition of having long thin mustaches, leaving long hair and wrapping it with a kind of cultural hat called "Pakkul" has been in place since 2001 in the last two decades. It was more popular than usual. Another colorful aspect of this cultural program was that the young people would also put different seasonal flowers on the side of the ears or on the strands of long hair and on the folded edges of the pukul hat; But during their rule, the Taliban militants left the long hair of Shazullah in which he used to wear fresh natural flowers from time to time.

What does the affected person Shazullah say about this and what kind of situation did he find out about and what kind of situation did he face after the release of the video?! After trying for a few days, I found his WhatsApp number and after introducing myself and my purpose, I asked him about the incident. He said to me while the local officials of the Taliban were afraid that they would not talk to him or do more detailed interviews.

(What can I say, brother, such stories happen in life. Actually, this incident happened to me 7-8 months ago, but the video was published on Facebook. I was not aware of the video being published. , but my friends and relatives were informed about it. When I informed them, all my relatives, family members and friends were very sad. I have not seen that video till now due to sadness and I did not want to see my relatives. I didn't do well. I lost him, I insulted him so much, I feel like he killed me.

Shazullah told me about how the said incident happened:

(( … At that time, I owed money to a person. I summoned the debtor to appear from the police headquarters. When I got close to the post office, I talked to them about my issue. I told him yes. With that, I took her by the hand and took her inside the post office. When I let him in, he started asking me questions about my race and tribe, my dress and appearance. In the meantime, he falsely accused me because of my tribe "Tani" that I am an employee of the military unit of the previous government called KPF. I told them that I was and still am an ordinary person, I have never done any government duty, but they made many other accusations, insulted me and treated me in such a way that You have seen yourself in that video.)

After August 15, 2021, when the Taliban (the so-called Islamic Emirate) were imposed on Afghanistan, it has been more than two years since this country has been continuously reporting the bad economic situation and social disintegration of the people. is happening So far, any international non-governmental organizations have published reports, evaluations and surveys on the current situation in Afghanistan, two common themes in all of them; The human crisis and violation of human rights and freedoms are mentioned again and again.

Among such assessments, it is necessary to mention the special report that was issued on May 31, 2023 by the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and the working group against discrimination against women and girls. Published jointly.

In this 30-page detailed report, which covers the situation of Afghan women and girls under the Taliban's rule from August 15, 2021 to May 2023; In addition to the historical background, political, economic and legal situation of Afghan women, detailed and calculated information has been provided about the terrible situation.

As a result of the said report:…Nowhere else in the world has the rights of women and girls been attacked as widely, systematically and comprehensively as in Afghanistan. – Every aspect of their life is limited under the guise of ethics and through the instrumentalization of religion. A discriminatory and restrictive environment, a climate of fear, and a lack of accountability for the widespread violations documented in this report make it impossible for women and girls to enjoy their rights, any person or organization from their Forbids defense and encourages other violations. The pattern of widespread systematic violations of the basic rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, the Taliban's discriminatory and misogynistic policies, and their violent enforcement methods, create an institutionalized environment of gender-based harassment and gender-based apartheid.

At the same time, Afghan women and girls continue to resist and fight for their human dignity, however exhausting it may be.… The international community must remain engaged in the situation in Afghanistan and take concrete steps to support accountability for serious human rights violations.

On the other hand, if we look at the human rights situation of Afghan men besides women, it has been greatly affected by the general and systematic conditions imposed on them by the Taliban.

The case of the treatment of the person named Shazullah is not only according to the public trust of the people, but also in the light of the content of the laws of the previous Republic of Afghanistan and the accepted international legal mechanisms. Freedoms are considered within the limits of infringement.

Is the treatment of Shazullah in conflict with human rights or not?! If it is called a violation of human rights, then which cases seem to have been violated and what kind of details do the laws of the last Republic of Afghanistan and the international mechanisms of human rights have in this regard?! In this regard, the former commissioner and spokesperson of the Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan, Dr. Shukrullah Mashkoor, says:

((In all international laws, acquittal is the main situation, no one has the right to decide the punishment for anyone on his own. One can look at this issue from several angles. First of all, the punishment for humans on his own Giving, it is not in the Islamic law, nor in the laws of Afghanistan, nor in the laws of human rights. If you look at all of this, desecration has no place in Islamic Sharia, international conventions of human rights and all applicable laws of Afghanistan, so it is a violation of human rights. The imputation can also be cut off.))

He adds that: (Although this is not the first or the last incident, serious incidents have happened before and may happen after this, because there is a gap in the laws. If the Taliban claim to enforce Sharia law. They do, but there is no permission for such actions in Shariat and Shariat also has its own definition. In this regard, Kamla is commendable, but unfortunately, the people in Afghanistan have been taken as a kind of hypocrites. The response is effective in preventing such incidents. Unfortunately, there is no monitoring mechanism in Afghanistan to monitor such incidents, and this is due to the fact that anyone can be a policeman, a prosecutor, and judge.))

But whether as a former commissioner of the Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan – Currently, that commission has been practically dissolved by the Taliban – What measures are taken when such incidents occur or not? Mr. Mashkoor told me: They are still monitoring human rights issues in Afghanistan in different ways according to their ability and prepare reports on them from time to time.

He added: (Despite the fact that all of us commissioners came to work outside the country voluntarily and with little means, we shared our reports and declarations with various international human rights mechanisms for a year and a half, and We are still in contact with him. However, despite the fact that we have shown our commitment, unfortunately, the international community did not fully support the Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan. However, we are not disappointed. Now, the only thing we can do is to register and document complaints, we can lobby, we demand justice, and we also expose cases of human rights violations and share them with international human rights organizations. ))

Taliban rulers - ordinary Afghans and cultural conflict

Since the reintroduction of the Taliban in Afghanistan, in many cases, individuals and groups attributed to them have been called perpetrators of major and minor human rights violations. But on the contrary, the officials of the ruling Taliban regime have rejected such accusations again and again and called them baseless. In most of the cases, they explained the behavior of their people in one way or another under the key of "Islamic Shari'ah" or they mentioned ordinary daily incidents under the term "100 misunderstandings".

In the same way, there are occasional protests against the Taliban's rule and behavior. The motive is standing.

But in addition to this, the number of incidents that occur for purely cultural reasons and due to various factors have not received the full attention of the international media. The treatment of a person named Shazullah is also of special importance from this point of view and it is considered a violation of human rights.

Under the rule of the Taliban, it is a different kind of case. Here, the armed people belonging to the Taliban destroy the private sanctuary of an ordinary Afghan citizen and deprive him of his personal freedom, which is guaranteed in Article 27 of the International Declaration of Human Rights.

Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to participate freely in the cultural activities of his community."…", but it was the armed men of the Taliban regime, who, by cutting the hair of an Afghan youth, violated not only his personal privacy, but also his international right to live culturally. took it

On the other hand, this incident can be called a violation of human rights due to the conflict with the content of Articles 5 and 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: or face punishment - Universal Declaration of Human Rights / Article 5.)

Also, in the 18th article of the said declaration, every human being in the world is not only given the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; But it also includes the freedom of individual and collective exercise of the aforementioned rights in public and private form.

Taking into consideration the case of Shazullah, I asked to call a young Afghan researcher about the behavior of Taliban militants from a sociological and psychological point of view.

Aaron Samoun – who is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology of the "People's Friendship University" in Russia - the Taliban group as a whole and especially their low-level armed people are not normal people in terms of sociology and psychology. considers

He argues that the Taliban have been engaged in destructive wars for years. They have been fed by a religious ideology that teaches violence, hatred, disbelief in social diversity, and the destruction of one's opponent. And beliefs form the main part.

Haroon adds the correction in the context of the treatment of a person named Shazullah:

(The idea and ideology of the Taliban, which is formed from a particular radical interpretation of Islam, backwardness and Sunni ideas, cannot live together with ordinary Afghans. In the course of two years, they have committed many incidents of violence. Very few of them have come to the media and that too by accident. The Taliban have violated the private sanctum of thousands of people, they have even insulted people's honor. That they threaten people with death and give severe torture, because people can't report the violence done to them and other people. The truth is that every Afghan who does not have the Taliban concept is their enemy and harms them in one way or another.… They do not allow any organization to conduct sociological research on the ongoing situation in Afghanistan and to record all kinds of criminal and criminal incidents. It is so violent that the world cannot even imagine it.)

According to him, every member of the Taliban, at any time and at any place, is both a prosecutor and a judge; People insult and humiliate them, torture and imprison them and even kill them very simply.

If the stories of the Taliban's authoritarian attitude towards cultural diversity, different cultural beliefs and even the rituals of religious minorities in the first rule of the Taliban have not been forgotten, and in this regard, the prohibition of the ancient festival of Nowruz and other cultural occasions has not been forgotten. The moving and especially the destruction of Bamyan Buddhist statues are living examples.

But as it was thought that in the second reign, his attitude towards cultural affairs would have been softened; On the contrary, this time their behavior towards the people is called more harsh. According to them, in the last two decades of democracy, the majority of the people of Afghanistan, especially the citizens, had turned to the cultural values ​​and secular beliefs of the rest of the world instead of the local values. Various possibilities were created, because they consider this situation to be in conflict with indigenous social values.

In addition to this, many new phenomena and international cultural traditions were popularized in different aspects of life due to the relations with the rest of the world, from which we can mention the popularization of different dress codes and styles.

After 2001, in the big cities of Afghanistan, in addition to the traditional clothes, the tradition of wearing the trisha as a formal and informal dress was also very common among the people, but after the re-establishment of the Taliban, the official dress in the government institutions has been changed. As such, the use of tridents and naktais has been absolutely prohibited and their use in public life has been almost completely abandoned.

In addition to this, in the past two years, many other similar cultural incidents are reported on the social media from time to time, in which people belonging to the Taliban regime interfere clearly in people's clothing, lifestyle and pace. .

Another of these restrictions is that the officials of the Ministry added to the official structure of the Taliban regime named Amr al-Ma'roof and Nahi al-Mankar are continuously working on the employees of hairdressing salons, beauticians and tailors. They often impose new restrictions, in which they have been given many recommendations about not cutting people's beards, how to make hair, clothing designs and how to treat customers. Also, in most of the provinces of Afghanistan, the news of individual and collective punishment of businessmen who have not implemented the recommendations of the Ministry of Ambar al-Moruf and Nahi al-Munkar and the security agencies of the Taliban regime often comes to the fore.

For example; A few months ago, according to a special order, the administration of the Taliban closed women's and beauty salons across the country and made thousands of active women unemployed. Rosa Otunbaeva, the UN Secretary General's special representative for Afghanistan, also reacted to this decision saying that this move will have a negative impact on women workers and will lead to an increase in women's poverty.

On the other hand, in most of the provinces of Afghanistan, hairdressing salons and salons are under constant surveillance and such conditions have been imposed on them that they will not cut anyone's beard, they will not trim it, and they will not style it. However, as a response to these restrictions, from time to time news of mass arrests and arrests of Salmans are published on social media by some sources. And even in the western provinces of Farah, Badghis and Herat.

A salmani worker in Gardez city of Paktia province, who identified himself as Mohammad Rahim, told me: "Our business is all about people who make beards and make designer hair. But now that the Taliban has brought hardship on us, people They don't come too much and our business is running at a heavy loss. Now and then, we go to some customers' houses to make beards and heads for them.))

Incidents of severe actions and behaviors by the Taliban in various fields have become a daily routine, but despite the occurrence of many incidents, such incidents have not yet become the headlines of the media, because of this, Shazullah's The incidents have been documented and they have not attracted the attention of tens of thousands of people at one time.

In order to get the opinion of the officials of the so-called Islamic Emirate of the Taliban for Khost province as a side of the Shazullah case, we tried to get the deputy governor of this province Maulvi Mehboob Shah Qant and the information and Farhang Department also placed the opinion of acting Maulvi Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, but despite repeated efforts, they were unable to convince them to answer some new questions about this case.

But we were only able to get the brief opinion of Maulvi Shabir Ahmad Osmani, the official of the Department of Information and Culture, through a local reporter, who said without a full explanation about the accused in the said case:

((That issue is another solution, we called a person named Shazullah and his family members to explain about the incident, and then with the help of the security personnel of the Islamic Emirate, we also arrested the three accused who were with Shazullah). We have officially introduced them to the judicial bodies. There is nothing left in this case.))