UN envoy defends failure to include Afghan women in upcoming meeting with Taliban in Qatar

The United Nations' top official in Afghanistan defended the failure to include Afghan women in the upcoming first meeting between the Taliban and envoys from 22 countries, insisting that demands for women's rights are certain to be raised. Human Rights Watch Executive Director Tirana Hassan said that, in the face of the Taliban's tightening repression of women and girls, the UN plans to hold a meeting “without women's rights on the agenda or Afghan women in the room are shocking.” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard said, “The credibility of this meeting will be in tatters if it doesn't adequately address the human rights crisis in Afghanistan and fails to involve women human rights defenders and other relevant stakeholders from Afghan civil society.” Ms. Otunbayeva, a former president and Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan, insisted after briefing the United Nations Security Council that “nobody dictated” conditions to the United Nations about the Doha meeting, but she confirmed that no Afghan women will be present. “Just before the Doha gathering, there will be a hybrid meeting with Afghan civil society representatives from inside and outside the country,” Ms. Otunbayeva said. We should provide them also access to businesses.” She added that “if there are, let's say, five million addicted people in Afghanistan, more than 30% are women.” Ms. Otunbayeva told the Security Council the UN hopes the envoys and the Taliban delegation will speak to each other, recognise the need to engage, and “agree on next steps to alleviate the uncertainties that face the Afghan people.” The UN expects a continuation of the dialogue at a fourth Doha meeting later in the year focused on another key issue: the impact of climate change on the country. As for what the UN would like to see, she said, “we need badly that they will change their minds and let girls go to school.” Ms. Otunbayeva said Afghanistan is the only country in the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation that doesn’t let girls go to school, which she called “a big puzzle.” “Afghanistan has been very male-dominated and “we want to change the minds” of young people from such a traditional society towards women,” Ms. Otunbayeva said.