The Afghanistan Women’s Justice Movement has raised concerns in response to recent remarks made by the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed. According to the movement, the initiation of talks to lay the groundwork for recognizing the Taliban contradicts fundamental human rights values. The movement urged the United Nations to take a decisive stance and offer additional clarification on the matter.
In a statement, the movement voiced its opposition to the Taliban lobbyists, stating that the United Nations’ decision to engage in talks to recognize the group amounts to clear appeasement toward a terrorist group. The movement maintains that the Taliban does not recognize any human values or human rights, and therefore should not be legitimized by international organizations.
The movement has emphasized that Amina Mohammed’s statements regarding talks to recognize the Taliban were made at a time when the international community and the United Nations are fully aware of the Taliban’s violence and oppression in Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan Women’s Justice Movement has added that despite the existence of numerous documents and outrageous evidence of the Taliban’s atrocities in Afghanistan for nearly two years, the United Nations’ decision to engage in talks to recognize the group is unexpected and bewildering to women’s rights activists.
The movement has also emphasized that global security, one of the UN’s key objectives, can only be achieved when women are recognized as human beings with equal rights to men, and Afghan women are granted the same freedoms as men.
“The UN’s clear appeasement to the Taliban is actually immolating women’s human rights in Afghanistan,” the movement’s statement reads. “How long depriving women of the right to education, the right to political and social activities, freedom of expression, freedom of thoughts and opinions, freedom of movement, etc., – the rights that will ensure global peace and security – will continue? What is your answer for us? Will the Taliban talk and comply with you on these issues?”
According to the statement, simply reopening the doors of schools and universities will not suffice in addressing the deprivation faced by Afghan women. “The UN will turn Afghanistan into a roofed prison for women with its ill-considered moves, and we will see more violation of the human norms, human rights, and the rights of Afghan citizens,” the movement warns.
The protesting women expressed skepticism towards the effectiveness of dialogue and interaction with the Taliban. They firmly urged the United Nations to refrain from engaging in further discussions with a group that has consistently evaded accountability for its actions. In their own words, “End the dialogue with a group that has never considered itself responsible for its actions and is not accountable to anyone.”
The recent remarks made by the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, regarding a proposed meeting to discuss the possible recognition of the Taliban, have sparked a widespread backlash from the Afghan people, civil organizations, and women’s rights movements. Many social media users, media experts, as well as the protesting women who have issued statements, have condemned the UN’s potential recognition of the Taliban as irresponsible. They have criticized the move, asserting that the UN should not recognize a terrorist group that flouts international laws and human rights standards as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
