The Taliban group are very pro-active and professional when it comes to advertising and media production. This is not something that the Taliban group are doing today. Twenty years ago, the Taliban understood the importance of media and propaganda. In that time, they were stronger and more professional in media activities. They were able to take over the virtual space and the media space and defeat the Republic regime in media activities before the fall of the fake Republic of Karzai and Ghani. In terms of media and propaganda, it fell to the Taliban because the Taliban had already conquered the virtual space and media space. They had already captured the mentality of a primitive religious society among the people of Afghanistan, especially the young people, and media victory was for the Taliban. After coming to power, the Taliban continued their media activities. They did not ban the video media as in the past, but they tried to control the media including private media for their benefit.
In the last few days, there has been a lot of talk about gender apartheid in the Taliban regime. This talk was able to make its way to the media space relatively easily. Women in Europe were protesting against gender apartheid against the Taliban regime. However, many foreign officials criticized the misogynist of the Taliban, and the discussion about gender apartheid during the time of the Taliban became a media stunt in the media space. In addition, the above-mentioned protests raised the concerns of the Taliban’s. As a result, the Taliban’s came up with a new media strategy, and with this strategy, they were able to take control of the media space.
Human rights and women’s rights are of utmost importance to us, and our red line in media activities is the promotion of human rights and the rights of women. On the other hand, if we take a closer look at the case of Nikbakht which was targeted and controlled by the Taliban group, we will see that the Taliban played a media game by mediating this case. By mediating this case, they managed to control the media space so that it did not reflect the reality of gender apartheid in their regime. In addition, they managed to manipulate the media space in such a way that they were able to transform the virtual space and shape the media space in their favor. By playing the media game of Nikbakht, the Taliban were relatively able to control and shape the virtual space.
What we do not emphasize is that not only is Nikbakht victims of family violence, but hundreds of women across Afghanistan are victims of family violence. Most importantly, with the rise of the Taliban to power, Afghanistan became a prison for women. However, the fact that the Taliban group made the case of Nikbakht prominent in the media was a media game.
Think! If you spend 25 years in a ruin, in those 25 years you will never see the sun again. How will you survive in the winter in Kabul with nothing like a mattress, quilt and a shirt. We do not know what happened to Nikbakht’s family, but how did the Taliban use this case? How did they use this case as a media game?
At the same time the media game was being played by the Taliban, the oppression of oppressed women intensified in the city of Kabul. Two Persian speaking Tajik women were arrested and imprisoned by the Taliban along with the families of the two women. Why did the Taliban suppress protesting women simultaneously? The reason is that the news of the media game by the Taliban was being played out in the media, and this news was being played out on the virtual space. Therefore, other news has less space to reflect. Based on the media game played by the Taliban against the oppressed women, many women were captured as aggressors. The truth is, the plight of these women was not being reflected and discussed in the media as it was supposed to be reflected and discussed in a virtual space.
At the time of the media game Nikbakht and the situation of the protesting women, another media game was launched by the Taliban group. The Taliban group invited their lobbyist, Diva Patang, to travel to Kabul from Europe’s gambling houses, cabarets, and to tour Afghanistan. Diva Patang was a member of Fazli Group. She provided sexual services to Fazli group and used to lure girls, women for Fazli Group men. However, when Fazli Group lost the control of the country, Diva went to Europe to lobby the Taliban from European Cabarets. Flinging and dancing with Iranian Rap singer in Cabarets and Gambling Houses in London, Diva supported the Taliban ban on Women’s Education and Employment in Afghanistan.
In this case, she arrived in Kabul, whitewashed the Taliban, and went to Bamyan. She drove and took a photo in front of an empty Buddha site, which was destroyed by the Taliban group. The fact that this Taliban lobbyist went to Bamyan and took pictures in front of this empty Buddha place was a maneuver for a state that wants to celebrate their ethnic victory and to pretend to the Hazara, Tajik and Uzbeks that our people have won and that a Pashtun is an ethnic lobbyist for the Taliban. She is free to travel anywhere in Afghanistan.
The trip of this female Taliban ethnic lobbyist is, however, a targeted media game by the Taliban to stifle protest women in Afghanistan. The reason for this is two-fold. First, the Taliban wants to suppress protest women who are demanding education and employment for women. Second, they want to demonstrate their support for women’s rights. Support for women’s rights is a media game that the Taliban wants to play to avoid media coverage of the suppression of protest women.
Nikbakht’s media game has been orchestrated by the Taliban and media maneuvering by the Taliban group ethnic lobby, and it’s done to create space on social media so that oppression of protesting women doesn’t show up on social media and can’t take over the virtual space. On the other hand, with this media game, the Taliban wants to show the world that they care about women’s freedom and rights. Because Nikbakht is out of 25-year home detention and Diva Patang is driving and going to Bamyan on her own.
