MSNBC anchor Joy Reid compared the Taliban’s repressive takeover of women’s rights in Afghanistan to the religious right in America.
On Saturday, BBC News anchor and correspondent Yalda Hakim tweeted that women in Afghanistan were being turned away from school and work as the Taliban overtook much of the country. In particular, female students in Herat were being told not to enter university grounds.
“Women in Herat, now under Taliban control are telling me when they tried to enter the grounds of their University today they were told to go home,” Hakim tweeted. “Women working in offices also turned away. Schools have been shut down. 60 percent of University students in Herat were women.”
Reid responded to Hakim’s tweet by comparing the Taliban’s treatment of women to the religious right in America. Reid claimed that the far-right in America dreams of a “theocracy” that would force women to leave their jobs and rear children. Per her usual tactics, Reid compared the takeover in Afghanistan to “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
“This is the real-life Handmaid’s Tale. A true cautionary tale for the U.S., which has our own far religious right dreaming of a theocracy that would impose a particular brand of Christianity, drive women from the workforce and solely into childbirth, and control all politics,” Reid tweeted.
https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1426619110742532101
Reid also retweeted a fan’s tweet that claimed Republicans are more aligned with the Taliban than Democrats on women’s rights.
“The Republicans are falling over themselves about what will happen to Afghan women, while in America they are actively working to strip women of their freedom to vote and to make reproductive decisions. They’re more in line with the Taliban than Democrats on women’s issues,” the tweet read.
The MSNBC anchor has been one of the most vocal critics of the January 6 Capitol riot. Reid has often dubbed the event an “insurrection,” though she remains far less critical about the insurrection taking place at the presidential palace in Kabul.
Per The Daily Wire’s reporting, Taliban leaders are reportedly at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, negotiating a “transfer of power” from the Afghan government. Citizens and refugees in the city are reportedly fleeing the city, but many of the roads are blocked and airports are under Taliban control.
The Associated Press noted that “Taliban fighters entered Kabul on Sunday and sought the unconditional surrender of the central government, officials said, as Afghans and foreigners alike raced for the exit, signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan.”
Al Jazeera posted a photo of Taliban fighters armed and in control of the presidential palace after Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan’s president, fled the country.
Stunning visuals via @AlJazeera of #Taliban fighters in control of the presidential palace in #Kabul after @ashrafghani fled the country
It's over. The Taliban are back in power. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/fMwqNcMgDM
— Anuj Chopra (@AnujChopra) August 15, 2021
Many Republicans have criticized left-wing media figures, such as Reid, for dubbing the January 6 riots an “insurrection,” while real insurrections take place in Afghanistan.
Related: ‘That’s It, It’s Over’: Afghan President And ‘Core Team’ Flown Out Of Afghanistan