KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Women activists in Afghanistan have criticized the UN’s decision to invite the Taliban to its high-level meeting on Afghanistan, highlighting the regime’s human rights violations, especially those against women and girls.
In a statement on Thursday, May 30, the Purple Saturday Movement, a women’s rights group in Afghanistan, called on the UN and international community to refrain from engaging with the Taliban until women’s rights are “fully and unequivocally restored.”
“The Taliban’s oppressive policies have dismantled decades of progress in women’s education, employment, and civic participation. Yet, despite these egregious violations, international dialogues with the Taliban continue, seemingly indifferent to the ongoing suffering of Afghanistan women,” women activists said.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan Women and Children S.W.O, another women’s rights movement, is calling on the international community to boycott the meeting, arguing that such a decision would send a powerful message that the world does not condone the Taliban’s atrocities.
“While diplomatic engagement is often a necessary strategy in conflict resolution, in this case, it appears premature and potentially harmful,” the movement said. “The meeting could be perceived as an endorsement of the Taliban’s regime, undermining international efforts to hold the group accountable for its crimes against Afghan women,” it added.
The United Nations announced last week that it is preparing for the third meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan, scheduled for June 30th and July 1st in Doha, the capital city of Qatar.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that the two-day meeting aims to bolster international engagement with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in a more cohesive, coordinated, and structured manner.
While the UN extended an advance invitation to Taliban authorities to join the event, the regime has not yet confirmed their attendance. In the previous similar meeting, the Taliban declined to participate after their demands to be recognized as the sole official representatives of Afghanistan and to have an exclusive meeting with the UN Secretary-General were rejected.
In the previous meeting, a delegation representing Afghan civil society, including three women, also participated. However, it remains unclear whether the UN will invite any representatives from Afghan civil society to the upcoming round.
Several rights groups and activists have previously criticized the UN for inviting the Taliban to the meeting, arguing that it would encourage the Taliban to further tighten their restrictions on women.
However, during a press briefing on Tuesday, May 28, the UN spokesperson responded to the criticism, saying that the organization will continue to engage with the Taliban “because they are the de facto authorities in Afghanistan.”
“We’ve invited envoys on Afghanistan to attend a meeting in Doha … to bring some clarity and consistency to the way the world deals with the situation in Afghanistan while continuing to put the human rights of women and girls at the forefront,” he said.
Members of the Purple Saturday Movement emphasized in their statement: “As the third meeting in Doha approaches, we assert a firm stance: no further negotiations should proceed until Afghanistan women’s Rights, Justice, and Freedoms are unequivocally restored.”
The activists say that engaging with a regime that systematically undermines the basic human rights of half of Afghanistan’s population is unacceptable. They urged the UN, the international community, and human rights institutions to heed the demands of Afghan women.
