OPINION:
Aug. 15 is the fifth anniversary of Taliban terrorists taking control of Afghanistan after then-President Biden’s botched U.S. withdrawal. And the tears of women who lost everything overnight when Team Taliban took over are still flowing.
This is an example of how feckless Democrats and their feckless foreign policy reverberate through the halls of despair and darkness for years, even decades.
History speaks loudly on this point.
In August of 2021, members of the Taliban held a press conference in Kabul and vowed women’s rights, as put forth by the 2004 Afghan Constitution — which came during the U.S. and NATO occupation of the country — would not be infringed; would not be changed; would not be erased. Equal rights for all, regardless of sex — that was the promise.
“In his first news conference, Zabihullah Mujahid, who had been a shadowy [Taliban spokesman] figure for years, doubled down on the Taliban’s efforts to convince the world that it has changed from the group that imposed a brutal rule on the country in the 1990s,” The Associated Press wrote on Aug. 17, 2021.
Yes. They’re the good guys. They saw the darkness of oppression and wanted to come into the light of liberty for all.
Except the clues were there the Taliban members were full of you-know-what.
“The Taliban Claim They’ll Respect Women’s Rights — With Their Reading of Islamic Law,” AP wrote in a headline.
Islamic law, also known as Shariah law, isn’t exactly friendly on the equal rights matter. Everybody knows that. In fact, everybody so knew that at the time of U.S. withdrawal that both Republican and Democrat female senators signed their names to a letter to Biden making clear their hope the administration would not forget the Afghan women and the rights they stood to lose by America’s withdrawal.
From the letter, dated Nov. 4, 2021 — this: “American disengagement from Afghanistan puts at risk hard-won gains for Afghan women and girls. Women [in the last 20 years] earned college degrees, joined the workforce and participated in Afghanistan’s public life. [In 2020], an estimated 3.5 million girls were in school, with 100,000 women enrolled in public and private universities. Women also began to succeed in business and government. [In 2020], the Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported over 1,000 female entrepreneurs emerged, and women were elected to senior positions in the Afghan government.”
Well, turns out the concerns of those who alerted Biden to the fallacies of his botched withdrawal were quite right. And my, there were many, many, many warnings, including those from sources typically sympathetic to all-things-Democrat.
From ABC News on Aug. 26, 2021 — this: “[Secretary of State Antony] Blinken cited the ‘international expectation’ that the Taliban will agree to permit people to exit Afghanistan. … ‘We certainly have points of incentive and points of several with a future Afghan government,’ he said. It’s worth noting that Blinken used a similar ‘pariah’ warning back in April, in calling on the Afghan government to uphold women’s rights. He reiterated that comment … shortly before the Taliban seized power. Expecting the Taliban to allow people to come and go and respect the rights of women and religious minorities — much less to care about the approval of the international community — represents quite the gamble after two decades of insurgent fighting against U.S. forces in Afghanistan.”
Team Biden’s take was yes, the Taliban could not be trusted, but hey, what are ya gonna do?
Sorry, women.
Too bad, so sad.
In February of 2024, it was this, from Human Rights Watch: “In the last two and a half years after regaining power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have created the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis.”
In August of 2026, it was this, from Equality Now, giving an update on the De Facto Authorities, or Taliban administration, and their treatment of women, over the last five years: “The DFA have issued close to 100 edicts, decrees and directives restricting nearly every aspect of women’s and girls’ lives, from their voices being banned in public to extremely limited education and work opportunities, no minimum age for marriage and a justice system controlled by the Taliban.”
There but for the grace of God go American women.
President Trump’s administration has an opportunity to shed light on the pitiful plight of Afghanistan’s women.
“Five years after driving the United States out of Afghanistan, the Taliban are inviting it to come back — with diplomats and cash, but no military,” The New York Times just reported.
Among the requested actions by the Taliban is for the United States to reopen its embassy in the country and to start investing heavily in Afghanistan’s economy, particularly in its minerals and infrastructure.
Sure. Just return to women the rights and privileges they held prior to America’s withdrawal.
Trump has an opportunity to spread freedom and liberty and justice and equality — without firing a weapon. And for morality’s sake, he should take it.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
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