‘Kinder, gentler Taliban’ start new image by executing a woman in street for not wearing burqa

There are words and then there are actions, and when it comes to the Taliban, there is little consistency between the two.

The Taliban appear to have learned from Western politicians that there’s great value in playing the media in support of their cause, as seen this week when they claimed with a straight face that women’s rights will be respected in Afghanistan.

On the same day this propaganda was being uttered, Taliban fighters shot and killed a woman in Takhar province after she went out in public without a burqa, according to The Associated Press. The Taliban have said women will have to wear hijabs but not burkas.

A horrific photo was released of a young woman lying in a pool of her own blood in district Taloqan, while her parents and others kneel around her. The news agency reported that she was killed by insurgents for not wearing a head covering. Then again, when the Taliban said they’d honor women’s rights and encouraged girls to return to school and women to even join the government, it came with a damning caveat.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the militant group is “committed to the rights of women under the system of sharia law,” but stressed women would work and study “within our frameworks.”

Mujahid declared that “Afghanistan is no longer a battlefield of conflict,” and claimed that they will grant “amnesty” to Afghans who worked with the U.S.

“We have pardoned all those who have fought against us,” he said. “Animosities have come to an end. We do not want to have any problems with the international community.”

Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, regurgitated these talking points.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with full dignity and honesty has announced a complete amnesty for all Afghanistan, especially those who were with the opposition or supported the occupiers for years and recently,” Samangani said, according to the Associated Press. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan doesn’t want the women to be the victims anymore … The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is ready to provide women with the environment to work and study, and the presence of women in different (government) structures according to Islamic law and in accordance with...

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