KABUL —
Afghan women protesting against the Taliban’s harsh rule say they have been
betrayed by Norway, the first Western nation to host the hardline Islamists
since they seized power in August.
اضافة اعلان
Led by the foreign
minister, a
Taliban delegation traveled first class on a plane specially
chartered by the Norwegian government to Oslo for meetings with Western
officials and members of Afghan civil society.
Women activists
who have been facing intimidation by the Taliban after staging small and
scattered protests are outraged by the diplomatic efforts.
“I am sorry for
such a country as
Norway for organizing this summit, sitting with terrorists,
and making deals,” said Wahida Amiri, an activist who has protested regularly
in Kabul since the Taliban’s return.
“It saddens me a
lot. Shame on the world for accepting this and opening doors to the Taliban,” she
told AFP.
Several women —
too afraid to step outside — instead protested in their homes in the cities of
Kabul, Bamiyan and Mazar-i-Sharif, in images posted to social media.
“Norway has
invited criminals and terrorists who have no respect for women’s rights and
human rights,” an activist from Bamiyan who asked not to be identified told
AFP.
“They (the
Taliban) are against women and humanity and they do not believe in freedom of
speech.”
Another activist
in the city said women were concerned their rights would be “traded behind
closed doors” in Oslo.
The Taliban have
promised a softer rule than their last stint in power between 1996 and 2001
when women were banned from leaving the house without a male chaperone and
forced to wear the all-covering burqa.
Many women,
however, remain deeply mistrustful and afraid of the new government.
Women’s rights
improved slightly over the past 20 years in the patriarchal Muslim nation, but
the gains were mainly limited to cities.
Last week, women
activists said two of their comrades, Tamana Zaryabi Paryani and Parwana
Ibrahimkhel, were seized from their homes in Kabul after taking part in a
demonstration.
The Taliban have
denied any involvement.
Isolated from talks
Some Afghans argue that engaging with the Taliban is necessary to save the
country from collapse, with millions suffering from hunger.
Afghanistan’s
humanitarian situation has deteriorated drastically since August when the
Taliban stormed back to power 20 years after being toppled.
International aid
came to a halt, worsening the plight of millions of people already hungry after
several severe droughts.
No country has yet
recognized the new government, and Norwegian Foreign Minister
Anniken Huitfeldt stressed the talks would “not represent a legitimization or recognition of the
Taliban”.
During the first
day of talks on Sunday — aimed at addressing the deepening humanitarian crisis
— the Taliban met with Afghan civil society members, including women activists
and journalists flown in from Kabul.
Women’s rights campaigners
took part in previous negotiations between the Taliban and the United States
leading to a deal in Doha in 2020 that ultimately failed to stop the militants
seizing control of Afghanistan.
Hoda Khamosh, a women’s rights defender who was
invited from Kabul to the Oslo talks, warned the West that by “remaining silent
or tolerating the Taliban, you are partly responsible for these crimes”.
Mahbouba Seraj,
who also took part in the discussions, said she was “hopeful” and the Taliban
had “acknowledged and heard us” during the talks.
But many feel
isolated from the meeting, held in a high-end hilltop hotel.
“As a protester seeking
the rights of women in Afghanistan, facing street fights with the Taliban in
Kabul ... (these women) cannot represent us in the Oslo summit,” said one woman
in a news clip posted to social media.
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