Taliban has always been discriminative against women. Now, the Taliban has taken a step further and has decided that men will represent women at gatherings for national unity. A large gathering organised by the Taliban of Afghanistan’s religious scholars and tribal elders will address issues of national unity and will be without female participants, the acting deputy prime minister said on Wednesday.
The meeting will begin on Thursday. However, it would be the first of its type since the Taliban took control in late August. “Different people with different views are going to gather. This will be a positive step for stability in Afghanistan and strengthening national unity,” Abdul Salam Hanafi said. He further added that religious leaders had asked for the gathering to address an Islamic system of government and economic and social issues.
Male delegates would speak on women’s behalf: Abdul Salam Hanafi
In response to a question about whether women may attend the meeting, deputy minister Hanafi said that male delegates would speak on their behalf. “The women are our mothers, sisters, we respect them a lot. When their sons are in the gathering it means they are also involved, in a way, in the gathering,” he said.
According to civil society organizations, if women are not present, the conference will lack legitimacy. The assembly resembled a “Loya jirga“. It is a traditional Afghan manner of decision-making adopted by several officials, including former republican President Ashraf Ghani.
Moreover, Taliban has put a stern form of hijab into force and suspended females’ secondary education. Additionally, they have not given Afghan women any opportunities to participate in politics or public life. They are following the pattern of complete gender segregation that aims to make women unseen in society. After many years of unrestricted independence, Afghan women today face a grim future. This is a result of the Taliban placing numerous limitations on various elements of their lives. Women have lost their freedom just ten months after Taliban’s control of the country.
