She noted that Western states in Afghanistan “wanted to build a country with a democratic system.”
According to Merkel, “there was no connection between the Afghan military and the people,” so “it didn’t work the way we thought.”
According to Merkel, the decision to withdraw the Western coalition troops from Afghanistan “caused a dynamic”, difficult times will come in the country for those “who believed in democracy and freedom, especially for women.”
Context:
The Taliban Islamist movement was formed in 1994, from 1996 to 2001 it was in power in Afghanistan. During the Taliban rule, women could not work, girls were not allowed to attend schools. Women had to cover their faces and appear on the street accompanied by male relatives. If women violated these rules, they were humiliated and publicly beaten, noted Reuters.
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States and the Taliban’s refusal to extradite the leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, Osama bin Laden, American troops were sent to Afghanistan.
After the overthrow of their government in 2001, the Taliban began fighting against the government. In February 2020, representatives of the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement, which provides for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan within 18 months after its signing.
The security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated amid the withdrawal of US troops, which started in April 2021 year. By August 15, the Taliban had taken control of virtually the entire country. including the capital Kabul… Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled abroad on Sunday.
Earlier, on August 13, the Taliban addressed the Afghan people, promising amnesty for government army personnel and policeas well as the inviolability of private property.
Against the backdrop of the Taliban offensive, foreign states began to evacuate their citizens. This process was paralyzed due to the fact that on August 16, Kabul airport canceled all commercial flights.
Media wrote about a “dark future” for women in Afghanistan after the country came under the control of the Taliban. Afghan women working in the media told the newspaper The Guardianthat free and noisy Kabul after the capture by the Taliban was filled with silence and fear. In the provinces, militants took several girls to “use them as slaves,” a journalist told the newspaper.
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