Taliban leaders will convene a gathering starting Thursday of tribal elders and religious scholars in Afghanistan to discuss national unity and other pressing concerns that will notably be devoid of women.
Male delegates at the forum will represent women, acting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi told public broadcaster RTA on Wednesday. Roughly 3,000 men will attend the assembly, but it is not clear what exactly will be discussed or whether it will examine women’s rights, which have been curtailed since the Taliban took power last August despite promises for reform.
TALIBAN ORDER WOMEN TO BE COVERED FROM HEAD TO TOE
“The women are our mothers, sisters. We respect them a lot. When their sons are in the gathering, it means they are also involved, in a way, in the gathering,” Hanafi said, Reuters reported.
The gathering will be the first of its kind since the Taliban toppled the U.S.-backed government and assumed power last year. The planned forum mirrors elements of a “loya jirga,” a traditional decision-making process in Afghanistan in which an assembly of leaders pursue consensus, the outlet reported.
“Different people with different views are going to gather. … This will be a positive step for stability in Afghanistan and strengthening national unity,” Hanafi added.
Religious leaders asked the gathering to evaluate social and economic topics, according to Hanafi. Since the Taliban came roaring back to power, the country has faced dire economic woes, massive humanitarian problems, and internal power struggles.
An estimated 24 million people, or 60% of the nation’s population, are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance such as food and medical supplies, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned in March.
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The Taliban have long faced criticism for their policies toward women. So far, they have declined to reopen schools to girls above sixth grade, eliciting international uproar and condemnation. In May, the Taliban issued a decree mandating all women in Afghanistan be covered head to toe in public.
Meanwhile, 1,150 miles away, the nation’s Foreign Affairs Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held talks with U.S. officials in Qatar on Wednesday to negotiate the unfreezing of roughly $9 billion in Afghan funds. The United States froze the funding in response to the Taliban takeover last year. The prior round of talks over the frozen funds took place in May.
