I'm not terribly optimistic that we will see a new Taliban that respects human rights, respects women's rights, etc. But the fact that they are making these noises are a good sign. They are probably just saying this stuff (and in some places avoiding imposing extreme restrictions on women, although those moves seem inconsistent in different parts of the country) to make the foreign community (aka the foreign aide donor community) happy. That in itself is something. The old Taliban didn't try to placate the foreign community, they just did what they thought their extremist religious views required. If the new leadership is worried about what foreigners think enough to moderate their policies, that will represent a lever of influence for the international community that could make things a little better for people under their rule.
A Taliban that is responsive to the criticisms of the foreign community is still going to be awful, but it is better than a Taliban that isn't listening to anyone and won't make any changes if they are criticized by foreign governments or human rights organizations.
