The Taliban’s leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, has made his first visit to the Afghan capital, Kabul, Taliban officials on Friday, July 1, 2022, disclosed.

Mullah Haibatullah is said to have addressed a large gathering of around 3,000 religious scholars, who convened to discuss issues of “national unity”. However, no independent journalist was allowed to attend the gathering, which took place amid tight security.

Audio of his speech was broadcast, but no video or photographs of Mullah Haibatullah have been published. Reports suggest that loud cheers could be heard as his presence was announced.

Critics on Mullah Haibatullah

There have been persistent allegations made by critics of the Taliban that Mullah Haibatullah, died a number of years ago, though multiple sources told the media that this is not the case. In his speech, Mullah Haibatullah praised the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last year (2021), as “not only a source of pride for Afghans but also for Muslims all over the world”.

He also appeared to address continuing international criticism of the Taliban’s treatment of women, on issues such as recent rules instructing them to wear the face veil in public.

As quoted by state-run Bakhtar News Agency, Haibatullah said “Thank God, we are now an independent country. [Foreigners] should not give us their orders, it is our system and we have our own decisions”.

“We have a relationship of devotion to one God; we cannot accept the orders of others which God does not like.”
Taliban’s secretive leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada

By far, there is no significant discussion on girls’ education at the gathering, and girls’ secondary schools remain closed in most of the country, while women were not allowed to attend the event.

Another Senior Taliban figure earlier said “The women are our mothers, sisters, we respect them a lot, when their sons are in the gathering it means they are also involved, in a way, in the gathering”. But Afghan women’s rights activists reacted with anger and dismay. A number of men and women who spoke to reporters described the conference as “unrepresentative,” and an attempt by the Taliban to legitimise their rule.

The Viewpoint of Some Individuals

“They only gathered to close people’s mouths,” said one man from Southern Helmand province. Munasa Mubarez, an Afghan Feminist and politician who is the Head of the so-called “women resistance group”, pointed out that “This assembly is not legit, and nobody would take it seriously. There is no link between Afghans and the Taliban. Have they even once asked people why they are starving or selling their body organs or children for money?” Mubarez asked.

“We, as women and mothers, are embarrassed to give birth to sons like Hanafi and other Taliban authorities and soldiers. They turned our lives to hell. And also, they are not representing women. Women don’t have any representatives in the Taliban circle. The world knows this by now, and I hope the world helps us [to fight them].”
Munasa Mubarez, an Afghan Feminist and politician

Baran is a young woman from Kabul, who has been banned from attending school. She said, “It was a gathering of like-minded people. This is not my word… this is what everybody thinks and says”.

“As a woman, I am so disappointed. They do not value us as human beings. [Over the past couple of months] women didn’t have even one minute of happiness. We’ve been suppressed by the government, society, and even our families. I demand the world not to recognise the Taliban’s tribal government.”
Baran is a young woman from Kabul