Token woman or the symbol of a new order for Afghanistan?

A young, female Kiwi reporter pinioned the Taliban leadership about women’s rights at their first press conference; her presence was as important to the new government as her questions were.

Anne Barrowclough

2 min read

1:51PMAugust 18, 2021.

Updated 9:52PMAugust 18, 2021

At first sight, the Taliban’s first press conference since its takeover of Kabul was a typically Taliban affair – an event led by men for men.

But it was a woman — a young, blonde woman — who has grabbed the world’s attention after asking the first question of the press conference and apparently forcing the organisation’s leaders to confront their attitude to women. Charlotte Bellis, a journalist with Al Jazeera, was one of only three female reporters allowed into the press conference – despite the dozens of women journalists from global media organisations still stationed in Kabul.

Her question – would Afghanistan’s new rulers respect women’s rights – was vital, given the Taliban’s bloody history of atrocities against women under their previous Islamist regime. And she didn’t mince her words, asking if they would once more lock women and female children in their houses and refuse them education or jobs.

Charlotte Bellis is New Zealand-born.

It was the perfect question for the Taliban to seize on to present their new, apparently more humane face as they laid out their official policy agenda.

Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid assured Bellis the “Islamic Emirate” was “committed to the rights of women”, although only “within our framework of sharia”, suggesting women would still find their lives much restricted.

It is possible Bellis was chosen because Al Jazeera, her employer, might be expected to show more sympathy to the Taliban than Western media outlets.

But she was more than a token woman; her presence was as important to the new rulers as were Mr Mujahid’s promises, as the Taliban works to polish its image.

In the regime’s previous incarnation, women were barred from working as journalists, and a female alone in a room full of men was unthinkable, unless she was about to be stoned for adultery.

Charlotte Bellis on assignment in Afghanistan.

So the sight of a young woman, her hijab pushed slightly back to show her blonde hair, being allowed to question a Taliban leader was hugely symbolic. It also came just a day after a female anchor on Afghanistan’s Tolo TV interviewed a Taliban commander on air, a move lauded on Afghan social media. The message was clear.

We have changed, we will be a government of the 21st century, and women need not fear us.

This is not to downplay her professionalism, or her courage in confronting the Taliban over its record on women’s rights.

A New Zealander, Bellis has worked for Al Jazeera in Afghanistan since at least 2019 and shows a deep understanding of the country and the challenges it faces.

Her last Instagram post three days ago was a report from the province of Wardak on the Afghanistan government’s response to the Taliban’s offensive.

But she will be as sceptical as any in the west about Mr Mujahid’s assurances on women’s rights. Her report from the press conference on the Al Jazeera website includes a video of women speaking of their fear of “disappearing” under the new regime.

On Wednesday, she described the two other female journalists at the press conference as ‘women much bolder than myself”.

And it comes amid multiple reports of atrocities against women and even very young girls as the Taliban offensive swept across Afghanistan. Even as militants negotiated with officials from the fallen government, little girls as young as 10 were being dragged from their homes and handed to Taliban commanders as sex slaves.