As war rages across the countryside, young Afghans are plugging in their earphones and logging into audio-based app Clubhouse to argue with the Taliban and pitch counter-offensive tactics.
July 16,2021 As war rages across the countryside, young Afghans are plugging in their earphones and logging into audio-based app Clubhouse to argue with the Taliban and pitch counter-offensive tactics. Launched in the United States at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the platform acts as a giant conference call and first found popularity among American tech entrepreneurs as a forum for discussing start-ups and cryptocurrencies. In a conflict zone, it can have the rare power of connecting ordinary citizens with militants waging fear and destruction. « Some say the Taliban have changed, but I wanted to hear from them, in their own voice, if they really have, » 22-year-old Sodaba of Kabul told AFP. With the withdrawal of foreign and NATO forces all but complete, the Taliban have waged a broad offensive, snapping up territory and stirring fears of a military takeover. Sodaba was particularly concerned about whether the Islamic fundamentalist group still held « their strict beliefs, especially on women ». « This is an interesting outlet that lets ordinary Afghans talk directly with the Taliban and government in real time, » said Kabul-based political activist and author Fahim Kohdamani, who hosts political debates on the platform on a regular basis. « People are very worried about what comes next now that international troops are leaving Afghanistan. » Afghans in the country’s urban centres have enjoyed a relative increase in social freedoms since the Taliban fell, but these gains are under threat as the militants advance on several provincial capitals.
