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| - Fact Check: Old pic of women mourning during Muharram viral as Afghan women in chains under Taliban
A picture of a group of burqa-clad women is circulating on social media with the claim that the Islamist militia has asked government officials in Afghanistan to "submit" their wives to them. India Today has found this claim to be misleading.
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India Today Fact Check
This is a 2011 image from Lebanon. It shows Shia women in a Muharram procession re-enacting a scene from the Battle of Karbala. So far, no credible media has reported that the Taliban demanded wives of Afghan government officials.
Amid reports of Taliban clamping down on women’s rights, a picture of a group of burqa-clad women, chained and walking in a line, is circulating on social media with the claim that the Islamist militia has asked government officials in Afghanistan to “submit” their wives to them.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the post to be misleading. The image was taken in 2011 when some women were re-enacting a scene from the Battle of Karbala during a Muharram procession in Lebanon. No credible reports have so far said that the Taliban has demanded the wives of government employees.
Tracing the viral image
A reverse search revealed that the picture has been used over the years by multiple websites.
On further search, we found the same image on “Alamy”. As per information provided by “Alamy”, the picture shows women at Saksakiyeh village in southern Lebanon re-enacting a scene from the Battle of Karbala during a mourning procession on December 4, 2011, two days before Ashura. Alamy has credited the image to Ali Hashisho of Reuters.
Ashura, the most important day in the Shia calendar, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, in the 7th century battle of Karbala.
A similar image of Lebanese Shia women from a Muharram procession in 2014 can be seen below.
A collage of similar images of Shia women taken at Muharram processions in Istanbul over the years can be seen below.
Women under Taliban
Though we could not find any credible report saying the Taliban has asked government officials in Afghanistan to hand over their wives to them, but the Islamist militia has a disturbing record when it comes to women’s rights.
On Tuesday, August 24, the Taliban asked working women to stay at home, while earlier reports say the group had asked local religious leaders to give them a list of girls over 15 years of age and widows under 45 to get married to their fighters.
The Taliban has said women would be granted rights within Sharia. Their rule from 1996 to 2001 was marked by rampant violation of women’s rights, whereby they were required to cover themselves from head to toe and banned from stepping out of their homes without a male companion. The slightest violation invited the death penalty.
However, it is clear that the viral picture was taken at a decade-old Muharram procession in Lebanon, and so far, the group hasn’t demanded the wives of government officials in Afghanistan.
ALSO READ: Fact Check: Old video from Syrian civil war shared as Taliban capturing Kabul presidential palace
ALSO READ: Fact Check: Did CNN praise Taliban for wearing masks during attacks? No, it's satire
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