On Saturday, a group of protesting women took to the streets of Kabul opposing the recognition of the Taliban on the eve of the UN meeting in Doha, which is set to take place with the special representatives of countries on Afghanistan affairs in Qatar on May.
The protesting women chanted slogans, including “Recognizing the Taliban is a disgrace to the world” and “We will fight, we will die, we will take our rights”.
In a statement, they stated that recognizing the Taliban meant “recognizing terrorism”, as the group does not deserve to be validated as a government and represent the people of Afghanistan.
“The whole world knows that the Taliban are using Afghanistan women’s rights as leverage to strike a deal with the international community and gain legitimacy. They have gone so far as to draw a red line for the United Nations and violate all international agreements,” stated in their statement.
The protesting women declare that the people of Afghanistan firmly reject the imposition of the Taliban, and they strongly urge the prevention of any hasty engagement and validation of the group that disregards the interests of the people of Afghanistan.
They regarded the handover of diplomatic missions of Afghanistan to the Taliban as a prominent instance of this precipitous conduct and emphasized that the international community and the United Nations hold responsibility for this action.
Their statement also highlights that the United Nations must take a clear, decisive, and persistent stance against the Taliban’s inhumane behavior and hostile policies toward the people of Afghanistan, particularly women, and there should be no selective or subjective approach to ensuring the rights of women.
The protesting women urged the international community and the United Nations to not trade the fate of millions of citizens of Afghanistan for interaction with the Taliban and to have meaningful support for women’s civil demands and rights to be raised in domestic and international negotiations.
The women warned that if the Taliban is recognized by the United Nations, this organization will be responsible for all human rights violations and the consequences of terrorism in Afghanistan.
This comes after various individuals and institutions expressed concerns about the possibility of recognizing the Taliban, after the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, said that discussions should take place regarding the recognition of the group. Her remarks received criticism and accusations of lobbying for the Taliban from many in Afghanistan.
The Doha meeting, hosted by the Secretary General of the United Nations, is scheduled to take place on May 1 for two days. Its goal is to find a single approach to deal with the situation in Afghanistan and prevent instability.
