Afghanistan (MNN) — The Taliban has broken a promise to have girls back in school by March 21. The organization prevented teenage girls from attending secondary school just a week after announcing they would allow it.
In response, the U.S. has canceled plans to normalize diplomatic relations with the Taliban. Many had believed more moderate leadership was gaining influence in the militant organization. But this week, the Taliban also banned television broadcasts from the BBC and ordered women to fly with chaperones.
Denise Godwin with International Media Ministries says, “Truly, all politicians show us their colors. They make speeches that say one thing, and that sound really good; that’s good public relations. But when we see their actions, we see who they are.
“It shows that while they may call it by different names, Sharia law isn’t offering good space for women in Afghanistan.”
IMM content
The Taliban wants to block media and education access from the Afghan people, but Godwin says many Afghans simply use phones. Before the Taliban took power, IMM shared their Women of the Bible series in a way people could pass from phone to phone.
Godwin says, “We’re just so thankful to have some resources available that are actually circulating out there online. They say to women, ‘No matter what is occurring in your circumstances, and in your life, you are precious in the eyes of God.’”
How to pray
Godwin asks readers to pray for those suffering under oppression from the Taliban. “They are looking for a God who sees them and knows them personally. And they are looking for salvation in Jesus Christ. So it’s an important time to be praying for the women in Afghanistan. Be praying for the powers and darkness in high places to be cast down.”
Pray also that the international community will continue to put pressure on the Taliban to pay attention to human rights.
The header photo shows an Afghan woman in Kabul in September 2021. (Photo courtesy of Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
