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Taliban cannot stop Afghan women from education

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It has been weeks since December 22 that the Taliban banned women from attending universities across the country. Girls above 6th grade were already banned from going to schools since 2021 when they seized power for the second time after two decades of war.

The Taliban also prevented women from workplaces, and beauty salons were already banned in different provinces. Public parks were also divided in two sections in a week between men and women. Women had already been banned from traveling long distances without male partners.

But after closing education doors, the Afghan female university students have launched a campaign of resistance, risking beatings and arrest. At the same time, their male students have shown solidarity with them by walking out of their exams. Even male professors resigned from their posts and many students staged protests and warned not to write exams unless their female classmates are not attending.

There is a general perspective that as much as the Taliban tries to crush girls’ and women’s rights, they are unlikely to achieve a final victory and at the end they need to reopen schools and universities.

The Afghan women and girls will not remain silent as they know that education is their fundamental right. Afghan girls and women enjoyed a right to education in the past 20 years before the Taliban’s return in 2021, and now there is no force to silence them even if a prison sentence can’t do this. They have experienced the value of education as they worked in several government and NGOs posts and they will not accept any alternative.

Difficult to commemorate the International Day of Education

Afghanistan is the only country in the world where education is banned against women and girls. Many countries commemorated the International Day of Education on 24 January, and honored their male and female teachers for hard working to educate sons and daughters of the soil. But in Afghanistan, it’s difficult to commemorate this today knowing that Afghan women and girls are now denied this right.

In reality, a ban on education means to further disregard women’s rights, as well as pushing them into a complete isolation. The Taliban must understand that education is an investment in Afghanistan’s future and must be available to boys and girls. Indeed, the ban on education is a violation of the rights of millions of human beings, a grave one.

In this International Day of Education, USAID has awarded long-time partner American University of Afghanistan up to $27m over 4 years to help students access higher education opportunities in Afghanistan. “USAID stands proudly with Afghan students, women and men alike, to pursue their dreams. Education is a right,” it said.

Besides that, USAID, and other NGOs can run different kinds of projects for women empowerment such as round tables through radio channels, short clips of video through the televisions, and focus group discussions. This is always one way to help this community.

The Taliban are the only government on the surface of this world that has barred women and girls from receiving an education, and no other country has such draconian forms of state-led gender persecution.

Taliban must reverse ban on education

UN Secretary-General Antonia Guterres in his statement on the occasion of International Day of Education, called on the Taliban to reverse the “outrageous and self-defeating ban on access to secondary and higher education for girls and women in Afghanistan.”

The decision has dashed to the ground the dreams of millions of school and university students, said a student Khaledi.

Speaking to Harici, Khaledi said that the world must remove this day as “International Day of Education” because all doors of education closed in Afghanistan, and the girls and women have been barred from education. “Why are we living in such a country where our rights to education have been taken away from us,” she questioned. She also called on the Taliban to immediately reverse the decision and let the girls and women to study and work.

The Taliban also banned women from working in NGOs. UN deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed had this week said that the Taliban have already been warned that if they exclude women from work performed by NGOs providing food and healthcare, these organizations will have no choice but to leave the country.

1.1m girls are banned from secondary school

Another student, Omra said that she hopes to see schools reopened for girls again. “I can’t wait to go to school; I am really missing my class and classmates.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in a statement said that Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, has decided to dedicate the 2023 International Day of Education (January 24) to Afghan girls and women.

“Now is the time to end all discriminatory laws and practices that hinder access to education,” Guterres said on twitter.

On Tuesday, OCHA also reported that now 1.1 million Afghan girls are banned from secondary school and more than 100,000 others are banned from universities.

 

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Nissan-Honda merger talks fail: A look at what went wrong

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Late last year, Nissan offered embattled rival Honda a lifeline: a $60 billion tie-up that would have helped both Japanese carmakers compete against Chinese brands disrupting the auto industry.

Years of sales declines and management turmoil had left Nissan a weakened force, especially after it underestimated demand for hybrid vehicles in the US, its biggest market.

But merger talks broke down in little more than a month because of Nissan’s pride and lack of concern about its situation, as well as Honda’s sudden decision to revise the terms and propose that Nissan become a subsidiary, six people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Nissan, Japan’s second-largest carmaker after Toyota until 2020, insisted on being treated almost as an equal in the talks despite its weak position, three of these people said.

Honda has pressed Nissan to make deeper cuts to its workforce and factory capacity, but Nissan is unwilling to consider politically sensitive factory closures, the three sources said. They said they were under the impression that Nissan thought it could recover on its own despite its mounting difficulties.

This intransigence, coupled with Honda management’s perception that Nissan was slow to make decisions, led to the undermining of a deal that would have created one of the world’s largest carmakers, the three people said.

Famed carmaker Nissan is now also facing the threat of US tariffs on vehicles made in Mexico, which accounts for more than a quarter of US sales. Both Nissan and Honda will announce their earnings on Thursday.

‘I think it’s a management problem,’ Julie Boote, an analyst at research firm Pelham Smithers Associates, said of the turmoil at Nissan. ‘They are completely overestimating their position, their brand value and their ability to turn the business around.’

Nissan and Honda declined to comment on specific aspects of the talks described by Reuters sources.

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida visited his counterpart Toshihiro Mibe last week, saying he wanted to end talks after Honda made its subsidiary offer.

Both carmakers said they would provide an update this month.

Merger talks process

Nissan stunned investors in November by slashing its profit forecast by 70 percent due to deteriorating sales in China and the US. The company announced a turnaround plan that included cutting 9,000 jobs and reducing global capacity by a fifth, but some analysts called it ‘too little, too late’.

In December, Nissan and Honda announced plans to merge as a result of talks they have been in since March 2024, when they said they wanted to collaborate on technology.

But the merger talks quickly hit a wall over the calculation of the shareholding ratio for the combined company, two people said.

One of these people said Nissan CEO Uchida privately expressed scepticism about the future of the deal. Honda executives complained that Nissan’s decision-making process was too slow, four people said. A public update on the talks was originally set for the end of January, but was postponed until mid-February.

Honda executives thought Nissan’s turnaround strategy lacked detail and were disappointed to see a meagre reduction in factory capacity, the two sources said.

Reuters was unable to ascertain whether Honda had requested a specific number of layoffs or identified specific factories for capacity reduction.

One person said Nissan did not want to close factories because it would cause their value on paper to fall and hurt earnings.

The layoffs promised as part of Nissan’s turnaround plan amount to 7% of its global workforce. Honda has laid off more people in China in the past two years, one person said.

A person familiar with Nissan’s thinking said Honda seemed unwilling to compromise on its plans, implying that it did not see Nissan as an equal.

New partners

It is unclear what could bring the carmakers back to the table. They are likely to return to their initial agreement to work together on technology, the three people said.

If both companies agree to end talks, neither would be liable for the 100 billion yen ($650 million) break-up fee under the December memorandum of understanding.

Nissan is open to working with new partners, including Foxconn, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer that makes Apple’s iPhones, Reuters reported. Foxconn did not respond to a request for comment.

Foxconn Chairman Young Liu said on Wednesday that their aim was to co-operate with Nissan, not buy it.

The Taiwanese company’s electric vehicle business is led by former Nissan executive Jun Seki, who at one point was seen by an insider as a candidate to become the carmaker’s CEO.

Foxconn would be a more generous suitor than Honda because it needs a brand name in the auto industry and Nissan could be attractive, said Amir Anvarzadeh, strategist at Japanese equity advisory firm Asymmetric Advisors.

‘Whatever you think of their cars and balance sheet, at least the brand is still quite recognisable,’ Anvarzadeh said of Nissan.

The Japanese government has so far given little indication of how it views the breakdown of talks between Honda and Nissan or whether it would favour a Nissan acquisition by Foxconn, which is also the largest shareholder in consumer electronics company Sharp Corp.

Boote said the real question for Nissan now is what management will do.

‘They don’t have a realistic view of what’s going on in the auto industry and what really needs to happen at Nissan,’ he said.

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Is there any possibility of sharing power?

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Pakistan is one of the countries that has played a major role in the production of extremism, fundamentalism and terrorism. By investing in religious schools and using these schools to preserve its interests in the region, this country has deepened its role in regional and global relations.

Fundamentalism and terrorism have become a major source of income for Pakistan. Therefore, with the invasion of the Soviet Red Army in Afghanistan, the US had given financial aid to Pakistan to support the groups against the government of that time and especially the Red Armies.

This was at a time when Islamic extremism was sprouting in Afghan society, especially among young people who had studied at Al-Azhar University in Egypt. The Islamic youth movement was one of the prominent examples of this spectrum, which was in front of the leftist ideas, but after some time, the space for these young people’s activities was limited and they fled to Pakistan.

Of course, this was not an accident. Pakistan was constantly monitoring the situation and trying to find an opportunity to implement its pre-planned program and succeeded in this direction. Pakistan recruited emotional young Muslims in Afghanistan under the name of Jihad (Holy War).

This support continued until the Jihadi groups came to power, and after that, another group was created under the name of the Taliban to challenge the Mujahideen.

Mujahideen and Taliban, both the children of the plans of the great powers and soldiers to the bottom of Pakistan’s interests in Afghanistan. Now that the Taliban have once again come to power with the direct support of Pakistan and the signing of the Doha Agreement with the United States, will they negotiate with the Mujahideen leaders on power sharing?

Power sharing and negotiations between the Taliban and jihadi leaders will not be possible for several reasons:

First: The Taliban group emerged in order to destroy the Mujahideen’s regime that caused the civil war, and the Taliban also called them “evil and corrupt people.” When the Mujahideen were engaged in civil wars among themselves over power and insecurity and disorder spread throughout the country, the Taliban defeated them in the shortest possible time.

The Taliban, who have gone to the Mujahideen war with the motive of right against wrong, it is difficult to explain to their forces how to make sharing of power with the wrong party.

Second: The Mujahideen have become burnt beads for their supporters, especially Pakistan. Mujahideen leaders, who gained huge wealth during the republic and made many investments in different countries, have adapted to modern life. They think more about their interests than the interests of their supporters. Pakistan no longer sees Mujahideen in its favor, but in order to put pressure on the Taliban, Pakistani officials sometimes meet with the Mujahideen leaders outside Afghanistan.

Third: By holding the Bonn International Conference on Afghanistan, the Mujahideen leaders not only ignored the side of the Taliban, but also cooperated with NATO forces in suppressing this group. Power and wealth were so embedded in the minds of Mujahideen leaders that they considered it impossible to share it with the Taliban.

Fourth: Mujahideen and Taliban, two groups created by Pakistan, are for two purposes. The first was created against the Soviet forces and the second against the former and then the NATO forces. The sensitivity of Mujahideen has been lost in the current situation and their leaders have become retired veterans and have lost their popularity among their supporters.

On the other hand, the children of Mujahideen leaders, most of whom studied and lived in Western countries, are unable to challenge any group in Afghanistan.

Fifth: Meanwhile, the Taliban have achieved the key to their success, loyalty to America. As long as the Taliban do not cross the line with American interests, they will remain in power and do not see the need to share power with others. Power sharing will be possible when the Taliban become weak.

Sixth: Discussing differences among the Taliban is a common thing. Regional powers try to support people within the Taliban to secure their interests. The recent tensions among the Taliban are also caused by the support of regional powers, but the big powers have emphasized on the internal stability and leadership of the Taliban unit. This is because the division within the group threatens the interests of the powers in the region and beyond.

There may be changes in the leadership level, but not the fragmentation that others expect. Some of the Taliban leaders, who seem dissatisfied with the leadership of this group and have given a green light to the jihadi leaders, have done this just to exert pressure and score points.

Once again, the Taliban do not want to share power with the Mujahideen leaders. By signing the Doha agreement, they considered themselves victorious in both (war and battle) fronts and now considered themselves as undisputed rulers of Afghanistan. Besides this, there is no case such as actual pressure or threat to challenge the rule of the Taliban, so that the Taliban is not satisfied to share the power with its opponents.

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Japan nervous about Trump’s potential tariffs

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The Japanese press described the meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Donald Trump in Washington last week as “successful.”

However, observers noted that although tariffs were not mentioned in the joint statement issued after the meeting at the White House, Japan remains concerned about such taxes.

At their first summit on Friday, the leaders reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Japan’s defense, including “nuclear deterrence against China.” They also discussed multilateral defense cooperation.

Pushing Tokyo to invest in American energy and technology, Trump made it clear that Washington wants to reduce its $68 billion trade deficit with Japan and argued that the problem can be solved without resorting to tariffs.

Prior to the meeting, there were concerns in Japan that Trump might insist on a significant increase in defense spending. However, Trump refrained from making such demands and instead praised Japan’s plan to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP.

Japan has long limited its defense spending to 1% of GDP, but in late 2022 pledged to gradually increase this level to 2% by 2027.

Main agenda: Nippon Steel

Kazuto Suzuki, a professor of international political economy at the University of Tokyo, told the South China Morning Post that Trump seemed to have accepted the goal and “there was less emphasis on China and defense.”

“The main target of this meeting was not only trade and China, but also Nippon Steel,” Suzuki said, adding that the meeting was considered successful given how “normal” it was.

According to Suzuki, there were initially concerns that Trump might deviate from his prepared notes and be “hostile” to Ishiba, a political foe of Japan’s late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“The main goal was to conduct the meeting as normally as possible,” he added.

During the meeting, Trump announced that Japan’s Nippon Steel had abandoned its attempt to buy Pittsburgh-based US Steel for US$14.1 billion and would instead “invest instead of buy.”

The Japanese firm’s attempt to take over US Steel had previously been blocked by former US President Joe Biden on national security grounds.

According to Japanese media, the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Koreans was also raised, and a relative of one of the abductees expressed satisfaction with “winning the support of the United States” and said that the two countries would “join forces against North Korea’s human rights violations.”

Abe is said to have had strong ties with Trump during the Republican’s first term in office and used this advantage to defend Japanese interests on various issues such as North Korea and trade. In December, Trump and his wife Melania hosted a private dinner for Abe’s widow, Akie, at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Defense pledge and support for Taiwan

Yoichiro Sato, a professor of Asia-Pacific studies at Ritsumeikan Asia-Pacific University in Japan, said that a successful outcome for Japan during the meeting was Trump’s assurance that Article 5 of the US-Japan Security Treaty would apply to the disputed Diaoyu Islands, which Japan calls the Senkaku Islands.

This article states that both sides recognize that an armed attack against any party in Japanese-administered territory would pose a threat to peace and security and that they will take collective action to address this common danger.

Sato noted that in their joint statement, the leaders, for the first time, expressed explicit support for Taiwan’s admission to international groups such as the World Health Organization.

Tarriff threat to semiconductors

Although the tariff issue was not mentioned in the joint statement, Sato said Trump mentioned a “global tariff” on semiconductors to be announced around February 18.

“This will undoubtedly affect Japan as well as major East Asian producers such as Taiwan and South Korea,” Sato said.

“It is unclear at the moment whether Japan will be mentioned as well as Canada, Mexico, and China,” Sato said, adding that if the European Union is targeted in Washington’s next round of tariffs, it is possible that Japan will also be mentioned.

In such a case, Japan’s automobile and steel industries would become “extremely fragile,” Sato said, adding that any decision by Washington on tariffs could be linked to Nippon Steel‘s investment in US Steel.

Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at the International Christian University in Tokyo, warned that Washington could make additional demands in the coming months if Tokyo does not take steps to reduce its trade deficit, such as increasing energy imports from the US.

“But at this stage, Tokyo, like all other allies and enemies of the US, is waiting to see what the US demands are, and they are trying to prepare for them as best they can,” Nagy said.

On Sunday, Ishiba identified liquefied natural gas, steel, artificial intelligence, and automobiles as areas where Japanese companies can invest in the United States and pledged to increase such investments to US$1 trillion.

According to the latest data from the US Department of Commerce, Japan was the largest foreign direct investor in the US last year with $783.3 billion, followed by Canada and Germany.

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