About the Taliban.

1. PART 2: CANADA IN AFGHANISTAN – WHAT
SHOULD OUR ROLE BE?
Who Are Our Troops Struggling Against in Our
Efforts to Help Afghanistan?
Is this a fight
worth fighting?
Key Questions:
- What is an insurgency?
- Who are the Taliban?
By Samantha Lesyk

2. INSTRUCTIONS: WHO ARE THE TALIBAN?
• Fill in the following
slides which ask
questions about the
Taliban in Afghanistan
by clicking on the
following Wikipedia link.
• You will also be asked to
find school appropriate
photos to illustrate the
information you will be
asked to find. You will
have to create hyperlinks
to the pages where you h"p://info‐wars.org/2009/04/26/american‐taxpayers‐finance‐the‐taliban/
found your photos.

3. WHO ARE THE TALIBAN?
 Read the first paragraph on the Wikipedia page  4. The Taliban as a social and political
about the Taliban and then answer the following “movement” (group) is made up of
questions. “volunteers” from which Afghan tribe and
people of what neighboring countries to
 1. What does the word Taliban actually mean? Afghanistan?
 The word Taliban actually means “students” in  The Taliban as a social and political
Arabic. “movement” is made up of “volunteers”
primarily from the Pashtun tribes and of
 2. When did they form the government of people from the neighboring countries
Afghanistan and who forced them from power? including the Pakistani army, Arab, and
Central Asian militants.
 The Taliban formed the government of
Afghanistan in September of 1996 and the person
who forced them from power was the Operation
Enduring Freedom after the attacks of  5. Where does the US government believe
September 11,2001. that the Taliban’s headquarters is (city and
country).
 3. Click on the links for the following concepts  The US government believes the Taliban’s
and then define them in your own words: headquarters is in or near Quetta, Pakistan.
 Insurgency
 Insurgency is when there is an attempt at
overthrowing a constituted government by
an organized rebellion through the use of
subversion and armed conflict.
 Guerilla War
 A type of warfare, in which conflicts
regarding small groups of combatants use
military tactics and extraordinary mobility
to harass a larger and less-mobile
traditional army.

4. TALIBAN LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION
 1. Who is considered by many as the  Explain why it is not an easy
current “leader” of the Taliban?
process to do.
 Considered by many, the Taliban’s current
“leader” is Mohammed Omar.
 It is not an easy process to put up a photo of
the man because not much is publicly known
about him. Also, the most recent picture is
 2. Follow the link to his page and then from the year 2002. Since he is on the most
answer the following questions: wanted list, it isn’t safe for him to just
 This man is on the US government’s most wanted wander about and allow pictures to be taken
list for what 3 activities? of himself. He has to keep a low profile.
 This man is on the US government’s most wanted
list for sheltering Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda
militants in the years prior to the September 11,
2001 attacks, and believed to be in Pakistan
directing the Taliban insurgency against NATO
forces and the Karzai administration in
Afghanistan.
 What is one of the only physical details really
known about this man?
 One of the only physical details really known
about this man is the fact he is said to be very
tall and missing one eye.
 How did he get this physical feature?
 He obtained this physical feature through the
wound of a piece of shrapnel, which he
independently removed from his eye and sowed
shut.

5. ORIGINS OF THE TALIBAN
Scroll down the main Taliban Wikipedia page  THINKING QUESTION:
until you find the heading Origins in order  Of the 2 stories a supporter would choose to
to answer the following questions: believe which one?
Of the two stories, a supporter would likely choose the
first one because it portrays how they grew to gain their
1. What are the two competing stories about beliefs and values as a whole and allows them to seem
the creation of the Taliban? triumphant.
The two competing stories about the creation
of the Taliban are:  Of the 2 stories an opponent would probably
- That when there was this war going on in choose to believe which one?
Afghanistan, not all of the people were in Of the two stories an opponent would probably choose
favor or concurred with one side of the the second one to believe in because it portrays the
war. In turn, they then formed their own Taliban as being weak and a last resort to free
themselves, rather than a huge voluntary movement.
party to present their own beliefs, which
was dubbed the Taliban.
- In the year 1979, the Soviet Union invaded
Afghanistan and held power over the
country for roughly a decade. In order to
free themselves, the CIA funded Islamic
extremist groups to try and overcome the
Soviets with the Muslims.
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/12/talibans_counter_strategy_is_b.php

6. TALIBAN TREATMENT OF WOMEN
 For the following slides  Under the Gender Policies heading,
please follow this link summarize the 8 points about the treatment
of women by the Taliban provided:
 Taliban Treatment of  - without accompaniment by a blood
Women relative, women are not allowed to wander
1. Read the very first paragraph and the streets and should not be seen without a
Burqa.
then summarize the Taliban’s
quotation about its reasons for  - high-heeled shoes are forbidden for woman
harsh treatment of women below: since a woman’s footsteps should not be
heard.
The reasonings for harsh treatment of
 - no stranger should hear a woman’s voice,
women according to the Taliban
so they must speak in quiet tones.
was so that they could keep the
women under control from  - woman aren’t allowed to be visible from
the street through windows.
becoming or feeling equal in
comparison to men and instead  - woman are not allowed to appear in
remain holy. photography or film.
 - the name of a place must not contain the
word “woman” in it.
 - woman aren’t allowed to go on the
balconies of their home.
 - woman are prohibited from appearing in
media.

7. DRESS CODE AND MOBILITY
 1. Scroll back up the page to find the definition of  Dress code stuff:
“mahram”.  What is the name for the traditional
 The definition of “mahram” is an unmarriageable outfit that women had to wear in
kin with whom sexual intercourse would be Taliban Afghanistan?
considered incestuous, a punishable taboo.
 The name for the traditional outfit
that women had to wear in the
 What are some other restrictions that women faced Taliban Afghanistan is called a
regarding moving around the cities and countryside “burqa” and was a dress that covered
in Afghanistan under the Taliban? (3)
the entire body except for a small
 Some other restrictions that women faced regarding screen to see out of.
moving around the cities and countryside in
Afghanistan under the Taliban included a ban on
women riding their bikes or motorcycles even with  What was the main reason for this
a mahram, being forbidden to ride in taxis without strict control of women's’ dress?
a mahram, and the introducing of segregation of  The main reason for this strict control
bus services to prevent men and women from
traveling on the same bus. of women’s dress was to cover them
from the sight of men.
 Why would an all girls’ orphanage be practically a
prison under this system?
 An all girls’ orphanage would practically be a
prison under this system because they wouldn’t
have the privilege to travel among the men in the
streets and have those civil liberties. They’d be
confined to their home seeing as it’s an all girls
orphanage, there are no men to accompany them
in their travels. http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/04/01/belgium-to-ban-burqa/

8. EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION
 Were women allowed to work at all  Were women allowed to be educated
under the Taliban rules (tricky under Taliban law? What age did they
question)? have to stop going to school?
 Not all women were allowed to work at all  Under the Taliban law, girls were allowed
under the Taliban rules. Exceptions to attend school until the age of 8.
included humanitarian services, and
female health professionals.
 Find the quote that illustrates that the
Taliban actually thought that they had
 What industries were particularly hit increased women’s rights in
hard by the Taliban’s work policies for Afghanistan.
women? Pick 2.  “no other country has given women the
 Industries that were particularly hit hard rights we have given them. We have given
by the Taliban’s work policies for women women the rights that God and His
were the education system, in which in Messenger have instructed, that is to stay
some schools, all of the teachers were in their homes and to gain religious
women and government employees, instruction in hijab.”
where roughly 25% of the employees were
female.

9. HEALTH CARE AND FORCED CONFINEMENT
 Give 2 reasons it was really tough for  A study done in 1991 concluded that roughly
women to receive health care when the what percentage of Afghan women they
Taliban ruled Afghanistan. surveyed were showing signs of mental
distress and depression?
 Two reasons why it was really tough for
women to receive health care when the
 A study done in 1991 concluded that
Taliban ruled Afghanistan were because roughly 97% of Afghan women showed
the Taliban made it a rule that women signs of mental distress and depression.
were not allowed to be treated or touched
be men doctors, so they would have to  Describe 3 other cultural prohibitions that
travel great distances to receive attention were imposed on women or about women if
by the few female professionals there Taliban ruled Afghanistan
were and in October of 1996, women were
forbidden from accessing the traditional  Three other cultural prohibitions that were
hammam. In turn, it denied women imposed on women or about women if
methods of hygiene as well as access to Taliban ruled Afghanistan were that place
health care, which had the possibility to names were altered if they had the word
make for a rise in scabies and vaginal “women” in them, women were forbidden to
infections. laugh loudly seeing as no stranger is
supposed to hear a woman’s voice, and
women were prohibited from participating
in sports or even entering a sports bar.

10. PUNISHMENTS FOR BREAKING TALIBAN LAWS
 Read the information about the types  Who is the woman in the photo on this part of
the web-page?
of punishments women (and men)
were subjected to in Afghanistan  The woman in the photo on this part of the web-
page is known as Zarmina.
during the Taliban’s rule and
summarize 2 extreme examples below:  What is happening to her?
 In this photo, Zarmina is being publicly
 Two extreme examples of punishment
executed.
of women during Taliban’s rule include
 Where is it happening?
back in the month of October in 1996
when a women had the tip of her  It is happening in the Ghazi Sports Stadium.
thumb cut off as punishment for  What crime is she accused of?
wearing nail varnish. Another example  She is being accused of killing her husband in
is when in December of 1996, the his sleep after being allegedly beaten by him.
women would be lashed on their legs  What happened to her for 3 years before this
and backs for violating the sharia code event?
of dress.  Three years before this event, she had been
imprisoned and extensively tortured.
 What organization took the film this photo is a
screenshot from?
 The organization that took the film is the
Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan.

11. WOMEN’S RESISTANCE TO THE TALIBAN
 What is RAWA?
 Explain what the Golden Needle Sewing
School was.
 RAWA is the Revolutionary Association of
the Women of Afghanistan and is a women’s
 The Golden Needle Sewing School was an organization based in Quetta, Pakistan, that
underground school for women in Herat, promotes women’s rights and secular
Afghanistan, during the rule of the democracy.
Taliban.
 Who was the founder of RAWA and what
 How did women “sneak in” 2 details. happened to her?
 Women snuck in by going three times a  The founder of RAWA was an Afghan
week and pretending to sew, but would student activist by the name of Meena
instead hear lectures given by professors Keshwar Kamal in 1977. She was
of literature from Herat University. assassiated in February of 1987 for her
political activities.
 Why was the area that this school was in
one of the most oppressed by the Taliban?  What does RAWA work for? 3 main things.
2 reasons.
 RAWA works towards the involvement of
 The area that this school was in was one of
women of Afghanistan in both political and
the most oppressed by the Taliban because
social activities, acquiring human rights for
it was a cultured city and mostly Shi’a,
women, and continuing the struggle against
both of which the Taliban opposed.
the government of Afghanistan based on
democratic and secular, in which women can
participate fully.

12. NOW THAT YOU KNOW …
 Write a personal reaction on this slide (3-4 sentences) in which you express your opinion about
the treatment of women in Afghanistan by the Taliban. How does it make you feel? Why?
 Now that I know and understand the treatment of women in Afghanistan by the Taliban, it
makes me feel uneasy. Just the thought of all the terrible punishments hits me first. How on
Earth could they commit such over the edge punishments. I understand it’s because they broke
the law, but where’s the equality in that? Women should have all the equal rights as men do.
We should be able to laugh as loud as we want in public and not have to worry about strangers
hearing our voice. It’s wrong.

13. DO WE …
 As citizens of a country in which we are relatively free, safe, and equal do we have
the responsibility to help places like Afghanistan become more like us? Why or why
not? Explain your answer in 3 – 4 sentences.
 I believe we do have a type of responsibility to help places like Afghanistan become
more like us. If they are unwilling as a whole to change, then we shouldn’t force
this type of thing upon them. However, if they wish for change, a well rounded and
advanced country like ours should be responsible for helping countries like
Afghanistan to move on. What’s happening there is wrong on so many levels, and I
don’t think we should stand by and watch if it’s causing the death of woman after
woman. We need equality.