Kabul, Afghanistan — AFP
The Taliban government in Afghanistan has stated that women’s rights are the country’s own issues to address, amidst criticism over the exclusion of Afghan women from United Nations-led talks. Despite imposing strict restrictions on women since coming into power in 2021, the Taliban will send its first delegation to talks in Qatar this week.
Civil society representatives, including women’s rights groups, will participate in separate meetings following the official talks. However, rights groups have decried the lack of representation of Afghan women in the main discussions and the absence of human rights issues on the agenda.
While acknowledging women’s issues, government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid highlighted that solving these problems is a domestic affair. The Taliban government aims to present a united front at the talks and believes that they should be the sole representatives due to their authority.
The talks initiated by the UN seek to coordinate international engagement with the Taliban, who took over from a Western-backed government in 2021. Despite not being officially recognized by any state, the Taliban authorities are set to engage with international representatives on topics such as combating narcotics and economic development.
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