Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special envoy for Afghanistan, urged the Taliban to follow through their commitments in the Doha meetings. Khalilzad said that the Taliban leaders had committed to honour the rights of Afghan women in Doha.
The former US special envoy called the Taliban’s decision to ban Afghan female staffers from working in the United Nations offices in Afghanistan wrong. He stressed that the decision will likely increase the suffering of the people in Afghanistan and will lead to reduced international assistance.
Khalilzad emphasised that the recent Taliban decision will complicate international dealings with the group and will be detrimental to the interests of Afghanistan.
The former special envoy of the US for Afghanistan added, “Afghan women have inalienable rights to education and work. These rights are recognised in Islam and international conventions.”
Sources confirmed to Afghanistan International on Tuesday that the Taliban had verbally told UN offices that local female staff would no longer work with the organisation. Following this order, the Taliban forces prevented female employees from entering the United Nations offices in Nangarhar province.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed its deep concerns and warned the Taliban officials that the United Nations cannot continue its work without female employees.
Taliban representatives repeatedly promised in the Doha negotiations that they would respect the right to work and education for women and girls. However, the group now excludes women and girls from schools, universities, and working in private and public sectors of the country.
