Engagement With Taliban Betrayal To Human Rights Values, Say Afghan Women Protesters

A group of female activists and civil society members from Afghanistan protested in Islamabad on Saturday, boycotting the third Doha meeting.

In a resolution, these activists warned the United Nations and country representatives that engagement with the Taliban equates to "a betrayal of human rights values."

The resolution stated, "In our opinion, any understanding with this group under the name of negotiation is an open interaction with war criminals, perpetrators of crimes against humanity, and agents of gender apartheid."

The women activists and civil society members urged the United Nations to redirect its dialogue towards the people of Afghanistan.

They also called for the criminalisation and official recognition of gender apartheid in Afghanistan. The resolution declared, "Women and LGBTQ+ individuals are clearly under an apartheid regime. It is the duty of the United Nations and its member states to criminalise and recognise gender apartheid in Afghanistan."

The resolution also emphasised the need to "pursue war crimes and crimes against humanity committed indiscriminately by the Taliban," stating that "sufficient documentation by domestic and international institutions has made this truth clear."

The activists called on the United Nations to impose sanctions against the Taliban government and to maintain the group's designation on the list of terrorist organisations.

The Doha meeting is set to begin today, and the main negotiations will continue until tomorrow.

Women have been excluded from the composition and agenda of the main negotiations in the third Doha meeting, leading to widespread protests by Afghan women and citizens. Several female activists have boycotted the meeting, and some invitees, including Habiba Sarabi, a member of the previous government's negotiating team, Nabila Mosleh, former Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs, and Zubaida Akbar, a human rights activist, have refused to participate in the sidelines of Doha meeting.