Is the Taliban Fascist?

What is fascism? Fascism is a government that believes in significant government control, fighting wars to keep the government strong, and that most people, or at least a large group of people are far less elite than themselves. The Taliban can be viewed as a fascist government because they have expanded through violence, try to attain absolute power, and their treatment of women.

The Taliban started out controlling Afghanistan, but around 1997, they spread their ideology to Pakistan. Although they didn’t actually rule as the government in Pakistan, they still implemented their values and brought fear to the Pakistani people. The Taliban spread to Pakistan through violence just like the Italian fascist governments tried to do. They believed that having a strong military was necessary because they thought the best way to expand was violence. In Swat Valley, Pakistan, the Taliban’s 3000 troops were able to hold off 12,000 of Pakistan’s military. Unlike the fascist movements in Italy, the Taliban is not trying to appeal to the youth population or trying to disguise their true motives. They still are attempting to gain power over the current administration in Pakistan.

Both the Taliban and Fascist governments in Europe were traditionalists. They wanted to implement traditional values to bring their people back to the “good old days” when things were pure. The Taliban’s main intention is to purify the Islamic world, and one way they think they are doing so is through their ill treatment of women. Fascists in Europe also had a negative attitude toward women and anyone who supported women’s rights. They thought women were good for nothing except for reproduction. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Taliban made rules that said, women are not allowed to leave their house without a male escort. In Swat Valley, along with many other Pakistani areas, the Taliban banned women from going to school. The Taliban strongly believes in living by Shari’ a law, and because of this, women do not have the same rights as they would in the western world. Women are not allowed to be educated or even have jobs. The fascists had believed much of the population was inferior to themselves, in Pakistan and Afghanistan; women are those who are inferior to everyone else. The Taliban’s religious fascism is greatly harming the progress of these countries.

Although the Taliban aren’t affiliated with fascism, they still implement many fascist values, like expanding through military, trying to get absolute power, and living by tradition.