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 When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali.

samanak prayer
Zan Times - March 20, 2025 - By: Khadija Haidary
My samanak prayer: ‘May God make the Taliban disappear’
On March 10, 48-year-old Soroya placed 150 kilos of wheat on four nickel trays and set them to sprout on the rooftop of her large courtyard home in a village in Takhar province, where she lives with her two daughters-in-law. Every year, she grows greenery and prepares samanak, believing that fresh sprouts bring health and samanak brings blessings. Every morning after the dawn prayer, Soraya and her two daughters-in-law went up to the roof to sprinkle water on the wheat grains to help them sprout. Soraya has five daughters, five sons, and four grandchildren. Her elder daughter-in-law is illiterate, while the younger one has studied midwifery. These three women, along with the young girls in the household, have been preparing for Nowruz since the middle of Ramadan. Making samanak is an important part of those preparations.
At 10 a.m. on March 19, Soraya, with the help of her daughters-in-law and daughters, took the trays of greenery down from the rooftop, reciting Bismillah and prayers for peace and well-being for their home and homeland. They put the sprouts into three sacks and handed them to one of her sons who took them to the market for grinding. This year, Nowruz coincided with Ramadan, making the 19th night of the month particularly significant for Soraya and her family. Before the next day’s sahari, the meal consumed before the day’s fasting, they lit the fire under the samanak cauldron. After her son returned with the ground wheat sprouts, the four women of the house kept the fire burning and stirred the samanak for hours until it was fully cooked. On Nowruz day, while the samanak pot was boiling, they invited their neighbours. Women gathered around the cauldron, taking turns stirring the mixture. Young girls and small children also joined in, forming a circle around the pot, clapping, and singing the traditional samanak song. Soraya remembers how the Taliban raided their home in 2021 during the engagement celebration of her second daughter-in-law. They scolded the women for playing loud music and detaining Soraya’s sons and husband for two days. So, anxious that the sound of the drum and the girls’ voices might reach the ears of the Taliban, she asks them not to sing or dance as freely as in the past.By 4 p.m., the samanak was ready, and Soraya was the last person to finish stirring it before leaving the cooking area. At 5 p.m., an hour before Iftar, Soraya baked fresh bread in the tandoor for the guests while her daughters-in-law set the table and prepared other arrangements. They sent a bowl of samanak to every neighbour’s home and invited the women to join them for Iftar. The women shared laughter and joy, wishing each other happiness as they ate the samanak.
The Taliban have imprisoned Afghan women in their homes. They have been driven out of society and workplaces and deprived of education. Yet, women are the guardians of life, always finding ways to celebrate life and console one another, even under the harshest circumstances. Soraya’s actions are an example of how housewives resist, preserving social solidarity and dynamic traditions. The Taliban have banned Nowruz. Last year, they cancelled the holiday on March 21, banned people from going to picnic sites, and drove women out of parks. During Nowruz celebrations, samanak holds a special place for women. Under the Taliban, however, women can no longer celebrate Nowruz as they used to, nor honor their traditions of greenery, and samanak. Although Soraya lives in a remote village, she is aware of the Taliban edict yet refuses to give up her efforts to bring joy to herself, her daughters, her daughters-in-law, and the women of her village. By celebrating Nowruz and cooking samanak, she resists the Taliban’s oppression. For centuries, religious fanatics and oppressive rulers who oppose joy have fought against Nowruz and traditional public celebrations. In response, people have linked Nowruz to religious rituals to protect their cultural traditions. Mela-e-Gul-e-Surkh (the celebration of wild red tulips) takes place under the sacred banner of Sakhi Shrine, and the cooking of samanak is often framed as a religious offering (nazr). This has been a way to safeguard Nowruz and its communal festivities. Women in northern Afghanistan and some other regions refer to samanak as the nazr of spring. When financially able, they make a vow to prepare samanak and pray for their wishes to come true. One of the most well-known prayers spoken around the samanak pot is: “May God bring happiness.” In recent years, another prayer has been added: “May God make the Taliban disappear.” Soraya is illiterate, but her 17-year-old eldest daughter is not, though she was forced to drop out of school after the tenth grade. Her second and third daughters have also reached the age where they can no longer attend school. Soraya’s eldest son has migrated to Turkey for work, and her midwife daughter-in-law remains unemployed. Like many of her fellow Afghans, Soraya has suffered under Taliban rule but has not lost hope. Over the past three and a half years, she has sprouted wheat three times, turning it into samanak and praying that God will ease the hardships of their life. Some women believe that samanak does not bring good fortune to every household. Because of this, if a family’s wish is not fulfilled after offering samanak once, they may not prepare it again — or, if they do, they may choose to cook it in someone else’s home. Soraya’s neighbour, Mastura, loves the samanak festival, but her husband’s family considers it unlucky. Mastura’s mother-in-law has unpleasant memories associated with the ritual, so Mastura joins Soraya’s household for the preparation. In Soroya’s village, it is said that the person sprinkling water on the wheat sprouts should be in a state of ritual purity (wudu), or else the samanak may not bring blessings. Women also place a few washed pebbles or walnuts into the samanak pot. While stirring, they listen for the sound of the ladle hitting these objects, believing that it is a sign their wishes will be fulfilled. After a woman hears this sound, she hands the ladle to the next person. Soraya’s neighbours took turns stirring the pot, praying for a prosperous spring, for happiness among women, and for relief from the hardships faced by the youth. On the night of Nowruz, after the Taraweeh prayers, Soraya’s daughters and their teenage friends gathered in the basement to dance and play games. Soraya advised them to keep the music volume low. Despite all the bitterness life has forced upon her, Soraya continues to water the seeds of hope — so they may sprout, grow, and flourish.
Khadija Haidary is a Zan Times journalist.>>
Source: https://zantimes.com/2025/03/20/my-samanak-prayer-may-god-make-the-taliban-disappear/

And

The lack of a political alternative sustains the Taliban’s fragile tyranny


We fight back
Zan Times - March 18, 2025 - By: Omid Sharafat
The lack of a political alternative sustains the Taliban’s fragile tyranny
Since returning to power, the Taliban have not only failed to gain domestic and international legitimacy but have also intensified public hatred and frustration toward their rule. Nevertheless, the political and military opposition to the Taliban has been unable to present a reliable – or viable – alternative that is acceptable to both the Afghan public and the international community. By the Taliban’s opponents, I refer to all political and social movements, including political parties and alliances that are committed to principles such as the rule of law, governance based on popular will, inclusive participation, and equal citizenship rights. The Taliban have stripped women of their basic rights, removing them from all social spheres, marginalized ethnic and religious minorities, and increasingly suppressed media freedom and freedom of expression. The country has plunged into a severe economic and humanitarian crisis which has triggered migration issues affecting regional countries. Education for half of the population is banned, while the other half is exposed to extremist indoctrination rather than genuine learning. Security was once promoted by the Taliban and their supporters as their main achievement. It has proven to be illusory. Threats from ISIS as well as the Taliban’s oppressive policies toward their opponents and minority groups have made life insecure for large segments of the population.
Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan is stuck in an increasingly dark limbo. In this essay, I seek to explore the critical weaknesses hindering the opposition to the Taliban and analyze why they have failed to become a viable alternative to the regime.
Unified political umbrella
The primary challenge facing Taliban opponents is fragmentation and disunity. Despite efforts to establish unified political platforms such as the National Assembly for the Salvation of Afghanistan and the Supreme Council of National Resistance for the Salvation of Afghanistan, opponents still remain divided. The absence of a unified resistance strategy significantly undermines the effectiveness of their struggle. While the National Resistance Front and the Freedom Front, led respectively by Tajik leaders Ahmad Massoud and Yasin Zia, engage simultaneously in guerrilla warfare and political opposition, other groups led by Pashtun figures like the National Liberty Party of Afghanistan (Rahmatullah Nabil) and the National Movement for Peace and Justice (Hanif Atmar) emphasize only political resistance. Major segments of the Supreme Council of National Resistance, which includes leaders such as Abdul Rashid Dostum, Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Yunus Qanooni, and Salahuddin Rabbani, have also focused exclusively on political approaches.
Engagement with the Taliban
In the absence of a unified political front, disagreements over how to engage with the Taliban represent another significant issue for the opposition. Political movements associated with Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek ethnic groups are generally skeptical of negotiations with the Taliban, advocating instead for a democratic political system inclusive of all ethnicities and political factions. In contrast, Pashtun opposition circles remain hopeful of negotiations with the Taliban within the framework of the Doha agreement. Although the Taliban have so far rejected all negotiations, former foreign minister Hanif Atmar insists on dialogue under United Nations supervision and views armed conflict with the Taliban as a mistake. Additionally, Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf’s recent proposal to form a so-called “Council of Settlement and Resolution” has been interpreted as an ideological alignment with the Taliban. On the other hand, women’s social and political movements, emerging as central and distinct pillars of resistance against Taliban rule, follow their independent paths, emphasizing individual and social freedoms for women.
Social base
Most political opposition movements are led by former jihadist leaders, their children, or officials from previous governments. Their unsuccessful records during the mujahedeen and republican eras have significantly diminished their social base and public support. Many view these leaders as responsible for the bloody civil wars of the 1990s and the corruption that led to the Republic’s collapse. Parties such as Jamiat-e-Islami, Hezb-e-Islami, Hezb-e Wahdat-e Islami, and Junbish-e Milli-e-Islami have histories marred by violence and internal fragmentation, which has resultedin lost credibility and grassroots connections. These factions have increasingly become mafia-like family enterprises, primarily serving the interests of select families and narrow circles of loyalists.
Political territory
The absence of political territory and the lack of physical presence of opposition groups within Afghanistan significantly diminish their ability to effectively challenge the Taliban and maintain connections with the populace. Historical precedents — the mujahedeen’s victory over Najibullah’s government in 1992, the Northern Alliance’s role in the fall of the Taliban in 2001, and the Taliban’s resurgence in 2021 — demonstrate that successful shifts in Afghanistan typically involved control over some internal territory. Until Taliban opponents secure geographical territory within Afghanistan, they will neither be taken seriously by the international community nor become a source of hope for a population exhausted by Taliban oppression. In other word, there is a reciprocal link between external support for opposition groups against Kabul’s ruling authority and their capacity to mobilize people and control territory.
External support
Political developments in Afghanistan have consistently been influenced by foreign intervention. The Taliban came to power through foreign agreements, and despite a legitimacy crisis, support from regional countries and cooperation from the United States have kept them in power. Opposition groups based in countries such as Turkey, Iran, the Persian Gulf states, and even Europe and the U.S. lack sufficient support. European countries and the U.S. have repeatedly stated that they do not support armed resistance against the Taliban. Additionally, despite disputes over Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) activities and border tensions, Pakistan remains perceived as the Taliban’s key sponsor. Contacts between Pakistan or other regional states with opposition groups are largely tactical and aimed at exerting leverage over the Taliban rather than genuinely strengthening the opposition. Meanwhile, Tajikistan, despite its explicit support for Afghanistan’s Tajiks and refusal to hand over Afghanistan’s embassy to the Taliban, cannot serve as a significant external supporter for anti-Taliban opposition due to economic constraints and its strategic alignment with Russia. The Taliban’s failure to achieve domestic and international legitimacy underscores the ongoing necessity for a viable political alternative. However, Taliban opponents lack a unified political umbrella, essential social base, and territorial control. Simultaneously, the Taliban continue to enjoy greater foreign backing compared to their opponents. In Afghanistan, foreign support remains a decisive factor for establishing government authority. Consequently, political opponents of the Taliban face significant challenges in becoming a credible alternative. Notably, external intervention triggered by rising dissatisfaction with the Taliban cannot be entirely ruled out. Such an intervention, similar to the events after September 11, 2001,, would likely place decision-making authority once again in foreign hands.
*Omid Sharafat is the pseudonym of a former university professor in Kabul and an international relations researcher.>>
Source: https://zantimes.com/2025/03/18/the-lack-of-a-political-alternative-sustains-the-talibans-fragile-tyranny/

Women's Liberation Front 2019/cryfreedom.net 2025