The Taliban have yet to prove their commitment to seeing future Afghanistan as an inclusive society, where women will have their rights protected, Fawzia Koofi, a female member of the Afghan negotiating team at the peace talks with the radical movement, said on Monday
KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd November, 2020) The Taliban have yet to prove their commitment to seeing future Afghanistan as an inclusive society, where women will have their rights protected, Fawzia Koofi, a female member of the Afghan negotiating team at the peace talks with the radical movement, said on Monday.
The remarks were made at the Geneva donor conference on Afghanistan, which opened earlier in the day.
"The Taliban say they have changed their minds about women, but they have not made progress, they have not yet assured us and the women of Afghanistan that after peace Afghanistan will be the place for all," Koofi said.
She also noted a rise in violence amid the Kabul-Taliban peace talks.
"We call on the international community to help us build an Afghanistan in which all participate and moderate islam prevails," she added.
Masoom Stanekzai, the head of the negotiating team, echoed his colleague's calls for building an inclusive society.
"Peace is not possible without the participation of women and their views ... I am proud that women are participating in peace talks, they are active and courageous women, representing Afghan society. They fight for the rights, justice, equality and lasting peace not only for women but for all Afghans. They show a new picture of Afghanistan, the Taliban who see this change know that they are facing a new country and not the country they ruled," Stanekzai said.
Under the Taliban rule, women were banned from attending school and working. Though the situation has now improved, the country has yet to catch up in terms of girls' literacy and education.
The negotiating team's chief also stressed the importance of returning Afghan refugees, warning that "violence will not end until the country's refugee problem is resolved."
