By: Tahera Azizi
Peace is a philosophy of cooperation and harmony within society in the absence of animosity and aggression. In a social context, peace is widely used to mean a lack of conflict between individuals or groups (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence. Therefore, peace is one of the priorities of all countries, especially Afghanistan, because my country has been deprived of peace and security for many years.
We have been trying to bring peace for years, but unfortunately, we have not succeeded yet because I think the Taliban do not firmly believe in peace. They are more interested in gaining accredit and continuing the war in Afghanistan, as we all see. Also, some countries do not want the war to end in Afghanistan because of their personal interests, that is an obvious fact.
Afghans have been cautiously hopeful about the peace process, but they are not willing to agree to a peace “at any cost.” We do not want a peace in which justice is immolated.
The Taliban seek to create an Islamic emirate in which democracy, constitution, human rights, and particularly the rights of women, as well as the Afghan government’s accomplishments over the years, are sacrificed.
Since we suffered, destroyed, and lived in war and strife to attain these achievements for several years, it is quite impossible to accept such a peace. As an Afghan citizen, I know one thing is clear: Afghans are extremely tired of violence.
“We are just feeling insecure. Every morning we leave home, say goodbye to every family member … not knowing whether we will be returning again.
As much as We want peace, we are also demanding the protection and promotion of our rights that have come through great sacrifice over the last 18 years. Our redlines are human rights, women’s rights, freedom of expression and constitution, democracy, equality, and, most importantly, educational democracy.
Above all, Afghans want the war to end but are worried about the compromises that could be made to get there. Everyone wants peace, but not if it means sacrificing hard-won gains. Afghanistan has made great strides since the Taliban was overthrown, and those advances need to be upheld in a new constitution if the war is to end in a positive way.
These constitutional rights are just words on paper if the government isn’t empowered to administer day-to-day services uniformly. Afghans want a deal to help move their country toward peace, but we know any peace deal between Afghans and the Taliban will not be the end of the conflict in the country entirely. Because after the release of 5,000 Taliban, despite of the commitments, the level of violence and attacks did not decrease, it is clear that the Taliban does not fulfill any commitment, Although according to human rights principles, the release of any Taliban prisoner who committed a serious and organized crime should have been done with the advice and consent of the families of the martyrs and victims, unfortunately, the families of the martyrs were not even involved in such a decision. Despite this, since Afghan people are enthusiastic about peace, they did not oppose 5,000 Taliban release. Sadly, more than the released prisoners fought against the Afghan government again and operated against all their commitments.
Recently, the Taliban asked for the release of 320 other dangerous prisoners, which is totally unacceptable to our people and is a completely unconstitutional appeal and contradictory to the demands of the citizens of Afghanistan. So, the release of 320 more dangerous prisoners would be completely ridiculous. I am Tahera Hura, a young Afghan girl who has gone through thousands of problems but still stood up and grew up with a stronger will, Never walk backward or give up on my goals. Afghan women were mostly victims of war and violence during this period. They lost their natural and primary rights altogether and experienced the death of their children and their loved ones every day. But Today, Afghan women not willing to tolerate any kind of injustice anymore.
I believe that Afghanistan will see war again, with the release of those Taliban prisoners, because the thoughts of this terror group have not yet changed and they are unwilling to accept a major alter. Hence, I will never forgive the assassins of my countrymen and the perpetrators of years of violence in my country, We may make peace with them for the end of the war, but will never feel secure with them for the rest of our life nor live according to their rules. Therefore, I am not optimistic about releasing 320 Taliban prisoners because they are the most dangerous people with a criminal record such as murder, drug trafficking, etc. And on the other hand, there is no guarantee that they will not return to the battlefields again and kill thousands of other innocent people as they did after the release of 5000 prisoners. We need an international guarantee to release the prisoners because the Taliban are deceitful and evil and do not get tired of violence and terror. However, Some Western nations, including France and Australia, have urged Afghanistan not to free all of a final batch of prisoners demanded by Taliban militants, posing a further possible complication to long-awaited peace talks.
As a young Afghan girl, I respect the stance of these countries ( Australia and France), which is against these dangerous prisoners being released. These countries have been good friends and colleagues of Afghanistan for many years, witnessing our suffering and realizing that we really need peace, and releasing prisoners without any guarantees is catastrophic.
I am especially appealing to Australians and France’s humanistic outlook; in fact, They are an example of humanity and justice.
Tahera . A Hoora (women rights activist) studied political science at the University of Delhi.
