Promotion for Taliban regime? ... Female riot police in burkas appear

Wearing Helmets Except Burkas, Carrying Shields and Riot Batons
Composed of About 100 Members... Some Positive Views Amid Women's Rights Suppression

Afghan female police officer wearing a burqa. Photo by the Taliban government Ministry of Interior promotional video capture, Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] In Afghanistan, where women's human rights violations are known to be severe, the Taliban government has promoted its regime by putting forward a 'female police riot squad' wearing burkas.

On the 1st, the Ministry of Interior of the Taliban government in Afghanistan released such a video on its own social media channels, including YouTube. In the video, all the women wore Islamic burkas covering their entire bodies with only the eye area exposed. Some held shields labeled 'Police' and wore helmets. There was also a person holding a long baton used for suppression.

They are reportedly part of about 100 female police officers recruited and trained by the Taliban government for various activities such as riot and protest control. Most of them had already worked as police officers under the previous government. Under the previous government, about 4,000 female police officers were deployed for maintaining public order. Taliban government spokesperson Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told EFE news agency, "They will join the riot response forces when necessary."

One of the female police officers, Hadiji, said, "I learned very useful things during the training process," and added, "Now we are ready to maintain security." It is quite notable that the Taliban, which had been suppressing women's rights since retaking Afghanistan in August last year, has launched such a female police riot squad.

Even though the Taliban established the female police riot squad to promote its regime, the fact that women were directly employed is being positively evaluated. Afghan TOLOnews, citing political experts, assessed that the Taliban's recent employment of female police officers will have a positive impact on securing public order in Afghan society. Although the Taliban is working on reorganizing the regime after regaining power, there is a significant shortage of related personnel.

Recently, some women in Afghanistan have been protesting to demand rights to education and employment. However, male Taliban members have always been the ones to suppress these protests. Female police officer Zahra urged women who had worked as police officers under the previous government to return and serve the country and its people, emphasizing, "There is no pressure or threat regarding this."

The Taliban government is also reportedly planning to expand the number of female police officers in the future. Spokesperson Ahmadi said this is just the beginning of an ongoing process. However, it remains questionable whether the Taliban will improve women's human rights overall by employing female police officers. Since regaining power, the Taliban has promised several conciliatory measures such as respecting women's rights and forming an inclusive government, but these promises have not been properly fulfilled.

In particular, there are criticisms that women's human rights have significantly regressed this year. Although the Taliban government repeatedly promised to fully allow female middle and high school students to attend school, it reversed its stance on the first day of the new semester in March.

Afghan women are now prohibited from traveling long distances without a male guardian, and they are required to wear clothing that covers their entire face.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.