OIC delegates to discuss women’s rights with Taliban officials

KABUL (amu.tv): The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has announced that a high-level delegation is in Kabul to discuss women’s rights with Taliban officials.

The delegation includes the OIC’s special envoy and three female officials from the human rights and women’s departments, focusing on implementing resolutions concerning Afghanistan, particularly those pertaining to women’s rights.

While the Taliban has banned women and girls from education and employment, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry stated that during a meeting with the OIC delegation, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, highlighted the active role of women in sectors such as education, health, and commerce.

He also claimed that the Taliban are attentive to women’s fundamental rights, a statement that women activists have outright rejected as false.

The discussions also involved Abdul Salam Hanafi, Taliban’s deputy chief minister, where Muttaqi reiterated the involvement of women in various professional sectors and claimed the Taliban’s commitment to fundamental women’s rights.

The remarks are expressed at a time when women and girls in Afghanistan are faced with bans from schools, universities, and most jobs in the public and private sectors.

“The Taliban’s claims about respecting and ensuring the Islamic and human rights and freedoms of women and girls are outright lies. I hope the OIC delegation has the courage to question the Taliban about these claims when women and girls in Afghanistan are deprived of their basic right to education,” Mariam Arwin, a women’s rights activist, said.

The OIC, in its only press release regarding the delegation’s visit, stated its commitment to pursuing resolutions focused on reopening schools, universities, and training centers for women and girls, and ensuring equal educational opportunities based on Islamic principles.

They have also urged the Taliban to create employment opportunities for women to participate in society and the economy.

Despite the continuous demands of the international community, human rights institutions, many Muslim countries, and other organizations, the Taliban have not retreated from the restrictions imposed on women and girls.

On the contrary, their leader has declared a continued fight against Western human rights values to the extent of public stoning of women.

“We call on these organizations to compel the Taliban to allow women to return to work and study. We must not forget that women are at the lowest educational levels and girls can only study up to the sixth grade,” said Hadiya Sahebzada, another women’s rights activist.

Despite global demands for change, Taliban has not removed the restrictions on women and girls, and their leader has vowed to continue opposing Western human rights standards.