Exclusion of Afghan Women from UN Conference Sparks Outcry

 Excluding Afghan women from an upcoming UN conference on Afghanistan would amount to a grave injustice to women and girls in the country, according to human rights organizations and former politicians.

Reports suggest that the Taliban are insisting on the exclusion of Afghan women from the UN meeting scheduled to take place in Doha starting June 30. This meeting aims to discuss the international community's strategy toward Afghanistan, with women's rights not being part of the agenda.

Since seizing control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on women's access to education, employment, and public spaces. There are also alarming reports that they intend to reintroduce public floggings and stonings for women accused of adultery.

The Taliban refused to participate in earlier UN discussions this year, setting conditions that prevented engagement with other Afghan representatives. This stance was deemed unacceptable by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Tirana Hassan, Executive Director at Human Rights Watch, warns that excluding women from the conference could legitimize the Taliban's abuses and damage the UN's reputation as a champion of women's rights.

Former Afghan Minister of Women's Affairs, Sima Samar, criticizes this move as bowing to the Taliban's demands and sidelining women's rights. She emphasizes that achieving law, democracy, and lasting peace requires the inclusion of women, representing half of Afghan society.

Habiba Sarabi, another former minister of women's affairs and Afghanistan's first female governor, accuses the international community of prioritizing engagement with the Taliban over protecting women's rights.

Heather Barr from Human Rights Watch denounces the failure to discuss women's rights at the conference as an egregious oversight. She believes that this decision serves to appease the Taliban but achieves little in terms of progress. Instead, it undermines Afghan women and sets a dangerous precedent.

While the UN has yet to comment on the issue, questions regarding the involvement of Afghan civil society representatives remain unanswered, indicating ongoing uncertainty about the conference's arrangements.