From VOA:
“US Seeks Muslim Nations' Help
to Counter Taliban Views on Afghan Women”
The United States has initiated
talks with Muslim-majority countries to encourage them to take the lead in
pressing Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers not to exclude the country’s women from
public life in the name of religion. Rina Amiri, the U.S. special envoy for
Afghan women, girls, and human rights, told a seminar in Washington Wednesday
that she is leading the diplomatic initiative to have an “alignment of
position” among all international stakeholders on the issue. The envoy,
speaking virtually to a seminar hosted by the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, said she visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar last week and
intends to travel other Muslim-majority nations to engage them on “the
regressive practices” the Taliban are enacting to curtail women’s freedom. “What
I noted to them is what the Taliban are saying about women's rights and making
the argument that it's on the basis of Sharia, is not just bad for Afghanistan
and for Afghan women -- it's bad for Islam,” Amiri said of her talks with Saudi
and Qatari officials. “The actors that need to be leading and countering that
narrative [are] the Muslim majority countries,” she added. Amiri noted that
many regional and Islamic countries maintain a diplomatic presence in
Afghanistan and, in their engagement with the Taliban, they advocate for political
as well as ethnic inclusion in the government, but “very little” is being said
about women’s inclusion. “When they engage the Taliban, what I've asked them to
do is include women in their delegation show that women are playing prominent
and strong roles in their own countries,” Amiri said.
The Islamist group took over
Afghanistan in August and installed a male-only interim government including
mostly Pashtuns, the country’s largest ethnic group, like the Taliban
themselves. Critics say the insurgency-turned-government has rolled back
women’s rights in almost every area, including crushing women’s freedom of
movement, over the past six months, despite Taliban pledges they would not
bring back harsh policies of their previous rule from 1996 to 2001, when women
were banned from education and work.
Women are not allowed to share
transportation with men or take long trips without a close male relative, and
taxi drivers are told not to offer a ride to female passengers who are not
wearing hijabs. “The vast majority of girls’ secondary schools are closed.
Universities recently reopened, with new gender segregation rules. But many
women are unable to return, in part because the career they studied for is off
limits now, as the Taliban banned women from most jobs,” said Heather Barr of
Human Rights Watch in a statement Wednesday. The Taliban dismiss criticism of
their government, saying it meets all requirements to be recognized as the
legitimate entity and it is not allowing terrorist groups to operate on Afghan
soil. They also strongly defend restrictions on women, saying they are in line
with Islamic principles. The radical group has promised to open secondary
schools for all girls in Afghanistan this month. Taliban leaders have traveled
abroad, including to Qatar, in recent weeks for talks with representatives of
Western and Islamic governments. But they have failed to win diplomatic
legitimacy for their government because of concerns about human rights, political
inclusivity and terrorism. Amiri said she recently also held talks in Qatar
with Taliban delegates who reiterated that Kabul wants to improve its
relationship with the West. “My response has been, ‘Don't just focus on
improving your relationship with the West, improve your relationship with
Afghans inside the country, build confidence not just by having inclusivity of
a few actors from different ethnic groups but an inclusive process that is
transparent, that engenders confidence among the population,” Amiri said. Amiri
said she also warned the Taliban that their return to power has only paused the
Afghan conflict and it will not come to an end in the absence of inclusivity.
Critics are skeptical whether
conversations with the Taliban to challenge their extremely restrictive view of
Islam would produce the desired outcomes. "I don’t think there are a lot
of people who can influence the Taliban from the outside,” Anne Richard, a
former U.S. diplomat, told the viral seminar. “But I think who can, U.N.
officials, special envoys, potentially certain governments, I think we really
have to ensure that their efforts are taken seriously and are pursued and we
get as much information to them then from the people who are inside Afghanistan
as we can.” Afghanistan’s immediate neighbors, including Pakistan and Iran, as
well as regional countries, have all cautioned the Taliban that the country’s
economic and humanitarian troubles may intensify unless they live up to
international expectations. Last month, diplomats from the six-nation Gulf
Cooperation Council met in Doha with representatives from Afghanistan’s de
facto authorities and underscored the need for a national reconciliation plan
that “respects basic freedoms and rights, including women’s right to work and
education.”
^ Islamic Countries and Muslims
around the world should do more to get the Taliban to accept Female Equal
Rights. By doing so it will help the Taliban, help the Afghan Women and help Islam.
^
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