Hezbollah Network Releases Propaganda Video Featuring Toddler Kissing Leader’s Photo
Forces affiliated with the Haqqani network have released a video on social media showing a toddler kissing a picture of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group’s leader and the Taliban’s interior minister. The video, which does not obscure the child’s face or conceal their identity, has been widely shared.
This act takes place despite the child’s inability, given their young age, to understand the identity of the individual or the symbolic meaning of such behavior. Nevertheless, the child is used as a propaganda tool to convey popularity and political legitimacy for a security figure—an approach that raises serious ethical and legal concerns.
During the era of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Haqqani network was known as one of the most violent armed groups, responsible for numerous bombings, suicide attacks, kidnappings, and armed operations that resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Critics argue that attempts to rehabilitate this violent past through emotional displays involving children amount to distortion of reality and symbolic whitewashing of a brutal history.
The instrumental use of children and adolescents in propaganda activities, staged events, and even military parades has been repeatedly reported during nearly four and a half years of Taliban rule. Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that such behavior constitutes a clear violation of children’s rights and indicates that within the governing structure, propaganda considerations are prioritized over the protection of children.
