Taliban hardliners enforce more restrictions on women and girls

Taliban hardliners enforce more restrictions¹ on women and girls

Transcript²

Taliban's hardliners appear ascendant as a ban on girls attending secondary school is extended and men are ordered to grow beards.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Two weeks ago in Afghanistan, the Taliban promised girls that they could return to high school. Just as they arrived, the girls were sent home. As NPR's Diaa Hadid reports, the mixed signals suggest that Taliban hardliners are flexing³ their power. Here's NPR's Diaa Hadid.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Chanting in non-English language).

DIAA HADID, BYLINE⁴: In this video shared by an Afghan feminist⁵, about a dozen girls demand to go to school.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Chanting in non-English language).

HADID: Ibraheem Bahiss, an analyst⁶ with the Crisis Group, says the Taliban's about-face on this promise came after senior officials held a meeting with the group's leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, the night before the girls were meant to return.

IBRAHEEM BAHISS: A very small minority within the leadership council of the Taliban decided⁷ to oppose this decision.

HADID: Bahiss says Akhundzada agreed, perhaps to avoid fomenting⁸ dissent⁹ within the group.

Ashley Jackson is a researcher on the Taliban and co-director for the Centre of the Study of Armed Groups.

ASHLEY JACKSON: The floodgates have opened. Whatever was holding these more aggressively retrograde Taliban clerics at bay is no longer holding them back.

HADID: In the days after the girls were sent home, a crop of other rules governing women were announced. Entry to Kabul's parks was divided by gender¹⁰ - men get four days a week; women get three. The Associated Press reported some women were taken off planes because they did not have a male guardian¹¹. Local language programming for a German channel, the BBC and Voice of America were pulled off air. Two Afghan radio stations were shut down.

UNIDENTIFIED PHYSICIAN: (Non-English language spoken).

HADID: And this doctor, who works at a public hospital, explains another new rule.

UNIDENTIFIED PHYSICIAN: (Non-English language spoken).

HADID: He says men were ordered to grow beards and wear traditional Afghan clothes - no Western suits. He requested anonymity¹² because he doesn't want to anger his new bosses.

UNIDENTIFIED PHYSICIAN: (Non-English language spoken).

HADID: He tells NPR's Kabul producer Fazelminallah Qazizai that some beardless doctors who turned up weren't allowed to sign in, which means they can't get paid.

UNIDENTIFIED PHYSICIAN: (Non-English language spoken).

HADID: He says others weren't allowed to enter.

Jackson, the researcher, thinks this trend will escalate¹³.

JACKSON: I think it's going to be an incredibly difficult few months. It's kind of a battle for the future of the Taliban and the future of Afghanistan.

HADID: For many, it comes as no surprise that the Taliban would start implementing¹⁴ harsh rules akin¹⁵ to those it had when they were last in power in the '90s. But it contradicts what Taliban officials promised before the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan. The deputy leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, even wrote that his movement believed in equal rights for an editorial in The New York Times. Some worry these new hardline rules might dissuade¹⁶ donors¹⁷ from providing more aid, which is desperately¹⁸ needed. The U.N. says few Afghans get enough to eat. Nearly a quarter face starvation.

Heather Barr focuses on Afghanistan at Human Rights Watch.

HEATHER BARR: There's no easy way for governments to explain to voters that even though the Taliban are denying girls access to education, it's urgently important that we should give money to Afghanistan.

HADID: So far, the U.N. has only raised $2.4 billion for its operations this year, just over half the amount it requested. And for one feminist who stayed on in Kabul, this only heightens the urgency.

NAWIDA: (Non-English language spoken).

HADID: Nawida tells me she has to resist the Taliban, because if they continue governing like this...

NAWIDA: (Non-English language spoken).

HADID: ...Afghans are going to starve.

Diaa Hadid, NPR News, Islamabad.

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 flexing   

n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• Flexing particular muscles allows snakes to move in several ways. 可弯曲的特殊的肌肉使蛇可以用几种方式移动。 来自电影对白
• China has become an economic superpower and is flexing its muscles. 中国已经成为了一个经济巨人而且在展示他的肌肉。 来自互联网

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 fomenting   

v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。
• Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

11 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

12 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

13 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

14 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

15 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

16 dissuade   

v.劝阻，阻止

参考例句：

• You'd better dissuade him from doing that.你最好劝阻他别那样干。
• I tried to dissuade her from investing her money in stocks and shares.我曾设法劝她不要投资于股票交易。

17 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。