The+Taliban

Cate Brams toc Jack Rushe =The Taliban=

Origins
The Taliban, an Islamic militant organization, first formed as a group of religious students and followers in the shadow of the Afghani civil war. With a goal of drawing a close to the war and ending corruption in Afghanistan, this group took power in the 1990s. Initially, the group only had power in the southern city of Kandahar, but through buying and seizing land, they gradually took over the rest of the country. In 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul and succeeded in forming the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, a government led by Mullah Omar which recognized by the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, but not the United Nations.The new government, made up of Sunni Muslims, also imposed laws that followed strict interpretations of Islamic teachings, or Wahhabism. The people welcomed this governmental change over the previous civil war.



Mullah Omar
Living in secret, no western reporter has ever met Mullah Omar. Of his apperance, the few who have seem him describe a taller man with dark hair and eyes, one of which is missing as a result of Soviet shrapnel in 1980. As a symbolic figure, Omar is seen as the center of the Taliban during their rule over Afghanistan. He is, however, not purely symbolic, for Omar was in charge of the Taliban. He headed the Afghani government between the years of 1996 and 2001, when he fell from power with the rest of the Taliban. Presently, few know the extent of Omar's power.

Treatment of Women
The Taliban views woman as inferiors, weak, and unimportant to the rest of society. In many ways, their views were highly hypocritical, considering that they claimed to strictly follow Islam. Islam gives equal chance for woman togain money, get a job, and participate in public life but the Taliban takes all of this away, not even allowing them to leave the house by themselves. Their clothing is limited to a full body berka, covering their entire body to hide themselves from all other men besides their husbands. Also, because woman are not allowed to go to the doctors or become one themselves, they often die of disease and other related medical deaths. Furthermore, women are brutally beaten, publically flogged and killed if they violated any Taliban morals, such as adultrey, prostitution, and showing leg skin.

International Impact
The Taliban may have began with good morals but it soon devlopped into an organization of war and chaos. They fought for many years with Pakistan, which struck the attention of countries like the U.S and Britain. Both of these countries sent their own militia to defend against the Taliban and protect the borders of Pakistan. The conflicts and wars the Taliban were involved in created a huge unemployment rate in Afghanistan, producing the second worst economy in the world. The Taliban also provided refuugee for Osama Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda during the attacks of 9/11. Following these attacks all countries cut their diplomatic ties to the Taliban, as to not make a bad name for themselves. Across the world, the ruthless actions of the Taliban have negativley impacted many countries.

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