Source: Taliban stand firm against negotiating women’s rights at Doha
The Taliban on Saturday ruled out any discussions on “internal issues” of Afghanistan, including women’s rights, with international envoys at a crucial United Nations-hosted meeting in Doha, Qatar.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government spokesperson and head of its delegation attending the conference in the capital of the Gulf state, said before his visit to Doha that the two-day talks commencing Sunday would primarily center on Afghan economic issues and counternarcotics efforts.
“We acknowledge women are facing issues, but they are internal Afghan matters and need to be addressed locally within the framework of Islamic Sharia,” Mujahid told a news conference in the capital, Kabul, when asked whether Afghan women’s rights would be on the meeting agenda.
“Our meetings, such as the one in Doha or with other countries, have nothing to do with the lives of our sisters, nor will we allow them to interfere in our internal affairs,” he noted.
Special envoys from around two dozen countries, including the United States, will gather in Doha Sunday to interact with Taliban representatives for the first time since U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres initiated what is referred to as the “Doha process” a year ago.
The dialogue is aimed at developing a unified and coherent international approach to increase engagement with the fundamentalist Afghan authorities.
The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 as the U.S.-led foreign forces departed the country after almost two decades of involvement in the Afghan war. They have imposed their harsh interpretation of Islamic law, banning girls from schools beyond the sixth grade and many Afghan women from public and private workplaces, including the U.N., among other restrictions on their freedom.
The international community has refused to formally recognize the male-only Taliban government until it removes the restrictions on women and girls.
The Taliban defend their governance, saying it is aligned with Afghan culture and Islamic law.
周六，在卡塔尔多哈举行的联合国主办一次重要会议上，塔利班排除了与国际特使就阿富汗“内部问题”（包括妇女权利）进行任何讨论的可能性。 出席在这个海湾国家首都举行的会议的塔利班政府发言人兼代表团团长扎比乌拉·穆贾希德在访问多哈之前表示，周日开始为期两天的会谈将主要集中在阿富汗经济问题和禁毒工作上。 当被问及会议议程是否会讨论阿富汗妇女权利问题时，穆贾希德在首都喀布尔举行的新闻发布会上表示：“我们承认妇女面临问题，但这是阿富汗内部事务，需要在伊斯兰教法框架内在当地解决。”他指出：“我们的会议，例如在多哈举行的会议或与其他国家的会议，与我们姐妹的生活无关，我们也不会允许他们干涉我们的内政。” 来自包括美国在内的约二十多个国家的特使周日将齐聚多哈，与塔利班代表进行互动，这是自联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯一年前发起所谓的“多哈进程”以来的首次互动。 此次对话旨在制定统一、连贯的国际方法，以加强与阿富汗原教旨主义当局的接触。 随着美国领导的外国军队在卷入阿富汗战争近二十年后撤离该国，塔利班于 2021 年 8 月重新掌权。他们对伊斯兰法进行了严厉的解释，禁止女孩进入六年级以上的学校，禁止许多阿富汗妇女进入包括联合国在内的公共和私人工作场所，并对她们的自由进行其他限制。 国际社会拒绝正式承认只有男性的塔利班政府，除非它取消对妇女和女孩的限制。 塔利班为其治理辩护，称其符合阿富汗文化和伊斯兰法。
