Shutting Afghan women out of key UN conference to appease Taliban 'a betrayal'

Source: The Guardian

Shutting Afghan women out of key UN conference to appease Taliban ‘a betrayal’

Group allegedly demanding Afghan participation in Doha meeting this month be limited to men and that women’s rights be excluded from the agenda

Tom Levitt , Annie Kelly and Zahra Joya
Fri 21 Jun 2024 16.27 BST
Last modified on Fri 21 Jun 2024 18.15 BST

Excluding Afghan women from an upcoming UN conference on Afghanistan would be a “betrayal” of women and girls in the country, say human rights groups and former politicians.

The Taliban are reportedly demanding that no Afghan women be allowed to participate in the UN meeting in Doha starting 30 June, set up to discuss the international community’s approach to Afghanistan, and that women’s rights are not on the agenda.

Since taking power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have restricted women’s access to education, employment and public spaces. In March, it was reported that they would reintroduce the public flogging and stoning of women for adultery.

The Taliban did not participate in UN talks earlier this year, with the UN chief António Guterres saying at the time that the group presented a set of conditions for its participation that “denied us the right to talk to other representatives of the Afghan society” and were “not acceptable”.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jun/21/shutting-afghan-women-out-of-key-un-conference-to-appease-taliban-a-betrayal