In a report on Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward misinterpreted Taliban slogan of “Allahu Akbar” as death to America.
CNN broadcasted the video with title “Clarissa Ward pushes Taliban fighter about Afghan women’s rights” on Monday.
In the video report, Clarissa can be seen dressed in black abaya and a hijab walking in the streets of Afghanistan’s capital. Ward talks to Afghan citizens and Taliban personnel and describes the life inside Kabul after armed Taliban forces took over the city.
When Clarissa approaches a checkpoint outside the home of the former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, she encounters a group of Taliban chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greater).
However, Clarissa Ward interprets the slogans as “Death to America”.
Oh My Dear @clarissaward Allah Hu Akbar means God is greatest . Kindly make a correction @CNN .
No where they said Death to America or blame your editor .
Everyone deserves fair reporting.#Afghanistan#Talibans #Kabul pic.twitter.com/4OvFTcV7bC— Neelam Aslam (@NeelamAofficial) August 17, 2021
“They’re just chanting ‘Death to America’ but they seem friendly at the same time,” she says.
While describing the scene as bizarre, Clarissa further adds that although Taliban appeared friendly, her presence soon created tension.
“They just told me to stand to the side because I’m a woman. I have seen women but far fewer than I would ordinarily see walking down the streets of Kabul,” Ward says.
Ever since her encounter with Taliban, Clarissa’s seven minutes long video report has been criticized on many counts. She has been slammed for being ‘Taliban cheerleader’ and drastically changing her outfit after the city fell to the Taliban.
Meanwhile Taliban has declared an amnesty across Afghanistan and is also urging women to join its government. Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, made the announcement on Tuesday after 2 people fell to death during chaos at Kabul airport.
“The Islamic Emirate doesn’t want women to be victims. They should be in government structure according to Shariah law,” Samangani said.
However, Samangani didn’t disclose other details on Taliban rule and said people of Afghanistan are Muslims and Taliban is not here to force them to Islam.
Leave a Reply