this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2024

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152

Afghanistan has been through everything. Now it wants to dust off its postal service and modernize (apnews.com)

submitted 4 months ago by Stamau123@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

47 comments fedilink hide all child comments

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — In parts of Afghanistan where there are no street names or house numbers, utility companies and their customers have adopted a creative approach for connecting. They use mosques as drop points for bills and cash, a “pay and pray” system.

Now the national postal service wants to phase this out by putting mailboxes on every street across the country, part of a plan to modernize a service long challenged by bureaucracy and war.

The lofty aspirations include introducing access to shopping via e-commerce sites and issuing debit cards for online purchases. It will be a leap in a country where most of the population is unbanked, air cargo is in its infancy and international courier companies don’t deliver even to the capital, Kabul.

The changes mean Afghans will pay higher service fees, a challenge as more than half the population already relies on humanitarian aid to survive.

The Afghan Post, like much of the country, still does everything on paper. “Nobody uses email,” said its business development director, Zabihullah Omar. “Afghanistan is a member of the Universal Postal Union, but when we compare ourselves to other countries it is at a low level and in the early stages.” . . Post offices in Afghanistan are vital for women wanting to access services or products they would otherwise be denied, since they are often barred from entering ministries or other official premises.

But the spectre of the Taliban’s edicts targeting women and girls also looms at the Afghan Post.

At the entrance to the main Kabul branch, a sign tells women to correctly wear hijab, or the Islamic headscarf. One picture shows a woman with a red cross over her visible face. The other has a green check mark over the face because only her eyes are seen.

all 48 comments

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[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 27 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (6 children)

I don't want feel good stories about a country run by literal terrorists.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 26 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Give people hope, information, mobility, and access to the global economy and you have yourself less terrorists

[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I don't buy it. The world does not need the people running the show there in any legitimate discourse. They want to run that place, let them as long as nothing leaks out.

I feel sorry for the women there but they where betrayed by their countrymen.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Keep slaves oppressed because slave masters don't deserve credit for loosening the chains?

[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

They are NOT loosening the chains. Whatever gives you that idea? Wishful thinking, propaganda, ~~tankiebrain~~? This is just a more optimized wat to exercise control.

But we agree the Taliban are slave masters and they should not be normalized.

So no... None of these nonsense progress stories from a country that exists in the dark ages but with modern weapons.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

No need for personal insults or attacks

[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

You are right, sorry. I'm just miffed of all the people seemingly forgetting who were talking about.

[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 13 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I do. Regardless of the government, I want better for humanity worldwide, full stop.

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

The people there wanted this.

[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

This does not make it better for them. It just allows a more streamlined process of indoctrination and wholesale opression of women.

[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Please elaborate on how having an address oppresses women.

[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

Up to now women needed to go to the mosque for their mail and such, so there would be some visibility of these women. In the future their husbands don't even have to let them wander that far, but could literally chain them to the compound.

The mosque provided a potential barrier for outside parties, but by using the postal system as a Trojan horse it allows the Taliban to more tightly control and target individuals remotely.

I can probably think of more.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

a country ran by

*run

'is ran' makes people think you share teeth.

[–] Excrubulent 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

"Ran" in this context is part of a dialect of English in certain parts of the US. It is spoken that way, on purpose, by native speakers, and is thus perfectly correct.

Saying that it "makes people think you share teeth" shows that you are in fact aware of this cultural distinction and your problem with the usage is not about grammar but about classism, which is also clearly on show with your bigoted description of poor southern US people.

[–] sepi@piefed.social -4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

You don't know how to use your "native" language, but the other guy is the bad guy. The sad part is that this is probably your only language.

[+] sunzu@kbin.run -7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Under developed country is attempting to get some public services going after being occupied by not one but two white man empires within last 50 years... three if look back further when British did the thing.

You really got a low bar for "feel good"

Like it or not, Taliban expelled the US and is now the government. That's how these things work. This line of thinking is how we got into invading countries in the first... maybe people should learn the lesson finally.

[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah yeah.. that's some revisionist history right there.

A group of Muslim fundamentalists took over a "country" and allowed binLaden and Co to use it as a base to reighn terror on the world and they got rightfully kicked in the teeth for it. That's how these things work.

When it was clear there was nothing to be gained there and there was no "winning" the occupiers left. It was a nice idea to try and get Afghanistan to be a fun running country.. but it isn't.. it is a tribal area ruled by warlords. And this does not work in the framework of the UN and such.

When the yanks left, it became apparent that getting the country functioning, was never possible because the people propped up to take the reigns had been more busy with enriching themselves than actually wanting a future for their coutrymen.

And now the country is again ran by Islamic fundamentalists and the people live in a hellhole again.

Whatever these terrorists do to try and gain legitimacy is irrelevant.

Lastly 2 white men armies... Sigh... So incredibly sad.

[+] sunzu@kbin.run -6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Damn boy! easy on that koolaid haha

Since you are trying to get a little more granular:

A group of Muslim fundamentalists

Aka US allies during USSR invasion of the country, which US trained and supplied with materiel.

You do also understand that Saudi Arabia is the main perpetrator of the 9/11, right? This is common knowledge now. So did US end up invading two wrong countries?

it is a tribal area ruled by warlords

You mean the US allies?

In December 2010, a leaked diplomatic cable revealed that foreign contractors hired by the American military contractor DynCorp had spent money on bacha bazi in northern Afghanistan. Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar requested that the U.S. military assume control over DynCorp training centres in response, but the U.S. embassy claimed that this was not "legally possible under the DynCorp contract".[38]

In 2011, an Afghan mother in Kunduz Province reported that her 12-year-old son had been chained to a bed and raped for two weeks by an Afghan Local Police (ALP) commander named Abdul Rahman. When confronted, Rahman laughed and confessed. He was subsequently severely beaten by two U.S. Special Forces soldiers and thrown off the base.[39] The soldiers were involuntarily separated from the military, but later reinstated after a lengthy legal case.[40] As a direct result of this incident, legislation was created called the "Mandating America's Responsibility to Limit Abuse, Negligence and Depravity", or "Martland Act" named after Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacha_bazi

When the yanks left

COPE HARDER haha

Lastly 2 white men armies... Sigh... So incredibly sad.

Factually correct statement you should consider getting properly educated on these issues instead of spouting state sanctioned propaganda with air of authority that is not backed up by any proper understanding of the subject.

[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 0 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

I have no clue if you think you are providing any gotcha's. I'm not contesting any of that.. I also think Taliban slavers are worse and should not get legitimacy.

The yanks did leave. I'd even agree they ran with their tails tucked.

And your white men statement just shows the IDpol lunacy you preach. Russians may have low melatonin in their skin but that is where the similarities end with the European white man. And trying to conflate the 2 solely based on the melatonin level just shows how oversimplified your worldview is.

[–] sunzu@kbin.run -3 points 4 months ago

Yeah yeah.. that's some revisionist history right there.

You said this up top. Where is the revisionist history again? This:

Russians may have low melatonin in their skin but that is where the similarities end with the European white man.

Damn boomer... that's a strong statement. I think there were others making similar claim during 20th century.

[+] machineLearner@lemmy.world -11 points 4 months ago (2 children)

you suck. Bet you wouldnt say the same about the united states.

[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Why wouldn't I? If the Americans end up voting trump into office again, they will get what they deserve. More dead babies, more dead mother's, more school shootings, more income disparity if the left fails to keep Trump out of office.. they fucked themselves.

My worry would be that a country that chooses cruise missiles over school lunches and warplanes over public healthcare will actively try and export their brand of christofacism to the rest of the Christian world.

It's like with a drunk driver. I don't care if they fold themselves around a tree in their car. It's the others that get hurt who are the problem.

Flawed as the US is, they also do a lot of good in the world. Having the likes of China and Russia at the reigns would be worse for literally everyone.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 0 points 4 months ago

Americans never voted Trump into office because he has never won the popular vote. He got into office in 2016 due to the archaic Electoral College system.
Even if a majority voted for Trump, many millions will not have, so why do they deserve what you're cursing them with?

[–] sunzu@kbin.run -5 points 4 months ago

this clown larps official state koolaid... don't hurt him any more haha

[–] fluxion@lemmy.world 22 points 4 months ago (1 children)

How long till the Taliban forces everyone back into making mosques the center of financial transactions?

[–] sunzu@kbin.run 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I am sure Arabs will be happy to set them up with Sharia compliant financial system...

These people really do need some Jesus in their lives tho

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[a] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers."

[–] Gsus4@programming.dev 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Shots fired!

[–] sunzu@kbin.run 0 points 4 months ago

Wait until he comes NYC

🤭

[–] Gsus4@programming.dev 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

With the far-right winning elections all over the world, the Taliban are going to feel right at home when they finally get to the 20th century.

[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Pretty sure it’s the other way around in many nations. The right’s goal is to meet the Taliban in BCE.

[–] Gsus4@programming.dev 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

heh, some far right is more progressive than others...some want to go back to 1939, some want to go back to 1775...and some want to to back to 0AD (the new testament is for chumps, I guess, GOP Jesus all the way)

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

When the Taliban raised it's ugly head the Brave Sir Afghan Army bravely fled. Brave brave Sir Afghan Army.

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 0 points 4 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The lofty aspirations include introducing access to shopping via e-commerce sites and issuing debit cards for online purchases.

It will be a leap in a country where most of the population is unbanked, air cargo is in its infancy and international courier companies don’t deliver even to the capital, Kabul.

Post offices in Afghanistan are vital for women wanting to access services or products they would otherwise be denied, since they are often barred from entering ministries or other official premises.

At the entrance to the main Kabul branch, a sign tells women to correctly wear hijab, or the Islamic headscarf.

She wanted to get her documents certified, a practical measure amid the country’s precarious economic situation and the sweeping restrictions on women and girls.

Hamid Khan Hussain Khel is one of the country’s 400 postmen, zipping around the capital on a motorcycle bearing Afghan Post’s jaunty blue and yellow.

The original article contains 734 words, the summary contains 150 words. Saved 80%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[+] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml -10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

Almost made it through an artice about a postal service without propaganda about a country the west destroyed and now sanctions to hell to make life miserable for its citizens is, actually a victim of their government structure and those poor women just need to remove their headscarf which is the real oppression. Not the starvation imposed upon those women by us but the headscarf.

And nothing about the sanctions of course.

[–] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yeah it sucks how the AP is exposing you to the reality of how women are oppressed in Afghanistan, even at the post office. The story about the post office (which actually does link to to an article about the sanctions BTW) should be focused on how evil the US is, of course! It should never ever mention that women are required to be completely covered to be able to use the postal service. We don't want people to know about that!

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml -5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Where did the Afghan infrastructure go? Did America forget to build any while they were busy raping Afghani children?

Oh no the Taliban builds a post office the horror. Quick America please save some those women by blowing them all up with an Apache helicopters.

[–] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Wow projecting really hard here, aren't you? The institutionalized child rape perpetrated by the Taliban has been very well documented. Read "The Kite Runner" or watch the movie adaptation.

You want really hard for everyone that's against America to be the good guys, but that's just not how things work in the real world. The Taliban are horrible monsters. The world isn't good guys and bad guys, just a lot of shades of grey. And the Taliban is darkest shade of grey out there.

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Sorry what's this mate?

https://youtu.be/Ja5Q75hf6QI?t=51m20s

[–] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I dunno... something about pedophilia being rampant in Afghanistan and the the US wasn't doing enough about it and now the pedos are back running the place again?

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Oh strange those were US government supported pedophiles doing the pedophelia and child rape. All while being supplied with weapons and military support. Without repercussions.

And American top officials saying on video the US backed forces raping children is fine. You left that out.

The Taliban banned this by the way you are projecting.

[–] Gsus4@programming.dev 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

you also forgot to mention this part https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_War