RASC News Agency: Several human rights organizations and Afghanistani women’s groups have expressed their deep concern over the exclusion of women and civil society from the Doha Conference in an open letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the conference participants. The open letter, endorsed by over 44 organizations and 122 women’s rights and civil society activists, emphasizes that Afghanistani women seek recognition of their rights in discussions about Afghanistan’s future.
The signatories assert that Afghanistani women, affected by the Taliban’s oppressive policies and as the primary victims of this situation, cannot be substituted in any meaningful participation under any pretext or conditions. The letter also highlights the deprivation of women from work and education, the violation of their rights, and the thousandth day of the ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan.
The signatories insist on the necessity of including women in the Doha Conference and future meetings on Afghanistan, emphasizing, “The suffering of Afghanistani women under the Taliban is alone sufficient to ensure the inclusion of women and civil society representatives in the upcoming Doha Conference.” They urgently call on the United Nations to reconsider the Doha Conference agenda and ensure the presence of women and civil society representatives, prioritizing women’s issues.
The United Nations has announced that the Doha Conference agenda will not include human rights and women’s issues, focusing instead on “the situation of the private sector, economy, and banking,” with representatives from 22 countries and the Taliban. However, the United Nations stated that civil society and women’s representatives would meet with special country representatives on July 2.
