PAKISTAN’S recent effort to host an extraordinary OIC conference

in Islamabad on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan was an

admirable one in the context of its role in international diplomacy,
especially when the OIC was founded in Pakistan itself. The focus
on the humanitarian situation of the people of Afghanistan is
critical; with a majority of them nearing starvation, a call for action
was imminent and overdue.

However, like several times before, Prime Minister Imran Khan managed to
make statements that were more controversial than statesmanlike. To suggest
that something as fundamental as human rights and women’s rights are
‘different’ in each society, and to cover the Taliban’s callous restriction of
women’s movement and girls’ education is irresponsible, especially under the
oriental garb of adding the nuance of Pakhtun culture. There is a lot to unpack
here.

First, even if this thesis is to be accepted, it signals a dangerous

authoritarianism where the unfounded ‘cultural sensitivities’ of a few men are
being imposed on an entire population without any consideration for the
latter’s consent or will, and where there is a complete disregard for universal
fundamental rights such as the right to movement, education and protection
from discrimination that the Taliban regime continues to violate.

Second, the whitewashing of and using euphemisms for the misogyny of the
Taliban’s terrible actions overlook the progress the people of Afghanistan had
made in the past 20 years. It is disingenuous to paint two decades of the life of
Afghans where they faced constant terror attacks from the Taliban as a tragic
period of a country run on foreign aid, because a country and its people are a
lot more than just that. The progress in education, the revival of the culture
and arts that was trampled upon by the Taliban before as well cannot be
undermined.

The Pakhtuns have a rich history of strong women.

Third, it is concerning that the PM would make such statements when his duty
is to work to protect the rights of Pakistani citizens under a Constitution that
outlaws a lot of the actions the Taliban are taking in Afghanistan, such as
suspending girls’ education, restricting women’s movement without men
related to them, banning music and torturing citizens. This will have an
impact on rights in Pakistan as well, and the PM should at a minimum
demand for all what citizens of his country are entitled to and have fought for.
Fourth, stereotyping Pakhtuns is both offensive and counterfactual. The
Pakhtuns have a rich history of strong women with rights and the struggle for
freedom rather than the patriarchal misogyny that the Taliban consistently
impose and preach. Pakhtun culture is not synonymous with Taliban culture
much as German culture is not synonymous with Nazi culture. Fascists and
dictators do not represent people; they oppress them.

A Pakhtun woman Malalai of Maiwand fought a war to liberate the Afghans in

1880 from the British; a Pakhtun woman Meena founded the Revolutionary
Association of Women of Afghanistan in 1977 to protect human rights, and a
Pakhtun woman Malalai Joya spoke in the Loya Jirga in Afghanistan
denouncing every criminal warlord in Afghanistan present there with bravery
and was elected by the people of the country several times among other
women.

When the prime minister compared the state of girls’ education in the tribal
districts of Pakistan to urban Pakhtun cities vis-à-vis cultural sensitivities, he
conveniently ignored the structural factors that led to this outcome. The
former tribal areas that were merged with KP province in 2018 were kept away
from development since the time of the British to create a buffer zone for the
empire, and then filled with right-wing extremists during the Cold War
through the connivance of dictator Zia with the Americans to fight the Soviets,
and the protection of terrorist outfits there. Subsequent military operations
meant security policy disallowed the construction of new schools while
militants blew up the existing ones.

So it was not due to the agency of the locals that education suffered, but the
state’s failure, which was apparent when activist Malala Yousafzai was
attacked by the TTP when she spoke up against the restriction of girls’
education in Swat.

It is an embarrassment for all Pakistanis when justifications are made at the

prime ministerial level for what can only be described as the Taliban’s
draconian, misogynist and fascist policies. The Taliban do not represent
Pakhtuns, but have actually undermined the hard work and intellect of
Pakhtuns over the decades and painted a bad name for us. If the prime
minister holds influence over the Taliban, he should use it to protect the rights
of Afghans, rather than making mistakes that could cost Pakistanis their
freedom as well.

We must resist this descent and never compromise on basic rights of all
humans under the garb of culture.
The writer is director of Bolo Bhi, an advocacy forum for digital rights.