UN urges Taliban to include women in public life at Daho talks

DOHA: Taliban authorities were told women must be included in public life, UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said on Monday as she defended a decision to sideline civil society groups at official talks in Doha.

Human rights organizations have harshly criticized the contentious UN decision to bar certain groups—including advocates for women’s rights—from attending the two-day summit on Afghanistan in exchange for the participation of the Taliban regime.

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“Authorities will not sit across the table with Afghan civil society in this format, but they have heard very clearly the need to include women and civil society in all aspects of public life” , DiCarlo stated during a press conference in Doha.

The UN-hosted conference, which got underway on Sunday, is the first to involve the Taliban leadership, who took over Afghanistan for a second time in 2021. It is the third of its kind to take place in Qatar in just over a year.

The discussions were scheduled to include counter-narcotics operations and economic concerns as well as stepping up engagement with Afghanistan and providing a more unified response to the nation.

Following the Taliban’s comeback to power, the international world has debated how to deal with the country’s new leaders.

Since assuming control in 2021, the Taliban administration in Kabul has not received formal recognition from any other authority.

The organization has enforced a severe interpretation of Islam, subjecting women to regulations that the UN has referred to as “gender apartheid”.

They insisted on being the sole delegates from Afghanistan, to the exclusion of civil society organizations, and turned down an invitation to the Doha negotiations in February. But prior to this most recent round, their condition was acknowledged.

The head of the UN negotiations in the capital of Qatar, DiCarlo, expressed her “hopes” that the policy of the Taliban regime regarding women in public life, particularly girls’ education, “will be given new consideration.”

After tomorrow’s main discussions conclude, the UN and foreign delegates will have the opportunity to meet with members of civil society, including organizations that advocate for women’s rights.

Agnes Callamard, the head of Amnesty International, cautioned against “caving into the Taliban’s conditions to secure their participation in the talks,” saying doing so would legitimize their institutionalized system of oppression centered on women.

The Taliban government has stated again and time again that Islamic law protects the rights of all residents.

At the summit’s inaugural session, Zabihullah Mujahid, the chairman of the Taliban delegation, advised the more than twenty special envoys and UN officials gathered there to “find ways of interaction and understanding rather than confrontation” despite “natural” policy disagreements.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is keen on engaging constructively with Western nations as well,” stated Mujahid.

“Like any sovereign state, we uphold certain religious and cultural values and public aspirations that must be acknowledged,” he said.

Taliban officials said on Monday that they will bring up economic sanctions with the international community during the discussions intended to explore ways to improve relations with the nearly 40 million people living in poverty in their country.

The Taliban government delegation will use Monday’s discussions to discuss “financial and banking sanctions” and the “challenges” they pose to Afghanistan’s economy, according to a post made by senior foreign ministry official Zakir Jalaly on the social networking platform X.

In his introductory remarks, Mujahid stated: “Afghans are wondering why they are being singled out due to both unilateral and international sanctions.

Regarding the ongoing sanctions, the spokesman for the Taliban government questioned if they were “fair practice” following “wars and insecurity for almost half a century as a result of foreign invasions and interference”.

According to DiCarlo, the topic of penalties was “raised” but not further explored.

“The decision of whether or not to maintain particular penalties rests with the member states. The UN representative stated, “People are the targets of the sanctions, not the nation as a whole.