WEB DESK: Recently, the Taliban detained a British couple who were running an educational program in Afghanistan.
After taking control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban took every possible measure to confine women to their homes. By imposing a ban on female education, the Taliban deprived more than 1.4 million girls of the opportunity to attend school.
The 70-year-old British couple, Peter Reynolds and his wife, Barbie, were detained by the Taliban after spending 18 years in Afghanistan running educational programs for women. After their detention, all communication with their children was cut off. Their organization, Rebuild, provides education and training to businesses, educational institutions, and NGOs.
Peter and Barbie ran a course that trained mothers in child-rearing, which had been approved by authorities despite the Taliban’s restrictions. They were arrested on February 1 when they returned to their home in Nayk, Bamyan province, according to the BBC.
After their arrest, the couple’s children were able to communicate with them through messages, but after three days, communication stopped. The couple’s children wrote a letter to the Taliban, appealing for their parents’ release.
Their daughter, Sarah Antwistle, told the media:
“This is an extremely wrong action by the Taliban.”
“My mother is 75 years old, and my father is almost 80. He needs heart medication after a mini-stroke,” said their daughter.
“They only wanted to help the country they love,” she added.
“To think that they have been detained for educating mothers and children is absolutely unacceptable,” she stated.
“The parents refused to leave Afghan women in need. Despite changes in the laws, they continued to fully comply with them,” she said.
“We contacted the British Foreign Office, but the UK does not recognize the Taliban government, and it does not have an embassy in Kabul, which is causing difficulties for officials to provide assistance,” she added.
“We urge for our parents’ release so they can continue their work in education, training, and service in Afghanistan,” she said.
According to the Rebuild organization, the British couple was detained in central Bamyan province from their home along with another foreigner and an Afghan citizen.
The couple had been living there for over two years and even had Afghan ID cards, according to Rebuild. Taliban authorities had previously searched their house and had sent them back to Bamyan after taking them to Kabul.
A delegation from Kabul came to Bamyan’s provincial authorities and took them back to Kabul. It has now been almost 17 days, and there has been no information about their whereabouts, according to the Rebuild organization
