"Taliban To Take Women Back To Medieval Ages": Frontier Gandhi's Great Granddaughter

Yasmin Nigar Khan, the great-granddaughter of late Afghan political leader Abdul Ghaffar Khan who was famously called 'Frontier Gandhi', has expressed worry at the unfolding conflict in Afghanistan and the fate of vulnerable groups there, including women and children.

Noting that panic had gripped over 30 lakh Pakhtoons living in India and that she was getting frantic calls from them regarding the protection of their families in Afghanistan, Khan has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide urgent aid and relief to the conflict zone.

"Taliban cannot be trusted," she said, as quoted by ANI. Telling media she hasn't had sleep in the last two days since the Taliban took over capital Kabul on August 15, Khan added that information trickling in was sparse and that visuals from Afghanistan were disturbing.

Also the President of the All India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind based in Kolkata, West Bengal, 50-year-old Khan has requested India's Ministry of External Affairs to attend to the crisis for the sake of Pakhtoons in the country.

Yasmin Nigar Khan Indicates Terror To Come Under Taliban

Echoing what Afghan women on-ground have been saying, Khan has raised the alarm about the Taliban taking women "back to the medieval ages" with a clampdown on their rights and rise in sexual crimes. The "liberty, dignity and freedom of women" would be risked under the terror outfit's regime, she said.

"During the previous Taliban rule, they kidnapped young widows to marry them off to their members. They don't want girls to study or go to school."

Ever since the Taliban began advancing into Afghan land following the retreat of US troops, reports have surfaced of girls as young as 15 being asked to marry terrorists while armed gunmen reportedly also knock on doors demanding girls for sexual favours.

Who was Frontier Gandhi? 

Abdul Ghaffar Khan was an Afghan activist with a key role in India's independence from British rule. Born in undivided Punjab, he was a staunch believer in non-violent resistance and communal harmony - not unlike Mahatma Gandhi, after whom he was given the nickname 'Frontier Gandhi'. Following Partition, he lived in Pakistan until his death in 1988 and was buried in Afghanistan.

Image: The Pashtun Times

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