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Amnesty International warns strides made by women ‘under threat’
Amnesty International said Monday that the two decades of hard-won progress by Afghanistan’s women and girls are at serious risk of being unraveled.
The organization raised concerns in a statement that read “the limited involvement of women in the peace talks” and the major strides on women’s rights “are now under threat.”
Amnesty International stated that as international troops continue to leave the country ahead of a full withdrawal on September 11, and with talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban at an impasse, the prospects for Afghanistan’s women and girls are at a critical juncture.
“Afghanistan is at a tipping point. As peace talks falter, the conflict continues to take the lives of civilians on an almost daily basis. Taken alongside the forthcoming withdrawal of international troops, Afghanistan is drifting towards an outcome that threatens to undo more than twenty years of progress for women and girls,” said Yamini Mishra, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director.
Mishra stated that these negotiations will shape the future for women and girls in Afghanistan and their voices must be heard.
“Now is the time for the Afghan government and its international partners to unequivocally commit and work to ensure that women’s rights and two decades of achievement are not traded off in the peace talks with the Taliban,” she said.
According to the statement, Afghan women were subjected to severe restrictions including being banned from working outside the home and appearing in public without a close male relative under Taliban rule from 1996-2001.
“Women and girls were further denied access to education and had limited access to healthcare. These restrictions still invariably apply to women in areas currently controlled by the Taliban,” the statement noted.
“While much work remains to be done, women’s rights have improved significantly since 2001. There are now 3.3 million girls in education, and women more actively participate in the political, economic and social life of the country.”
“Despite the ongoing conflict, Afghan women have become lawyers, doctors, judges, teachers, engineers, athletes, activists, politicians, journalists, bureaucrats, business owners, police officers, and members of the military,” the statement read.
Amnesty International noted that Afghan women still face major obstacles to the full realization of their rights.
“Violence against women is rife, the participation of women at all levels of government remains limited and, according to UNICEF, 2.2 million Afghan girls still do not attend school.”
“In the current peace talks, which began in September 2020, the 21-member Afghan government negotiation team included only four women, with no women represented in the Taliban delegation. In the March peace conference on Afghanistan in Moscow, only one woman was included in the 16-member government delegation.”
“The significant under-representation and frequent side-lining of women throughout these talks are indicative of how far there is still to go. These negotiations will shape the future for women and girls in Afghanistan and their voices must be heard. The Afghan government must ensure inclusive and meaningful participation of women in the talks,” said Yamini Mishra.
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Iran executes four Afghan prisoners
Iran executed four Afghan prisoners in Vakliabad Prison in Mashhad on Thursday morning, a human rights group reported.
Haalvsh said that the individuals had been arrested in 1398 over drug-related charges and then sentenced to death by the court.
This organization announced the names of the executed prisoners as Zaman Taheri, Salam Taheri, Gholam Qadir Samani and Ebrahim Noorzahi.
Zaman Taheri and Salam Taheri were brothers.
Iranian officials have not commented about the matter so far.
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Roof collapse kills two in Helmand
Two people were killed after roof of their house collapsed in southern Helmand province on Friday night, officials said.
Abdul Bari Rashid, head of information and culture in Helmand, told Ariana News that the incident occurred in Tajkan village of Gershak district due to heavy rain.
According to him, the dead include a woman and a child. A man was injured in the incident.
This comes as 10 people have died and six others have been injured as a result of the floods in Helmand province in the last one week.
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IEA urges World Bank to resume work on 7,000 incomplete projects
Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) say 7,000 incomplete projects of the World Bank are at risk of destruction in Afghanistan. They call on the World Bank to resume the work of these projects.
According to them, discussions have been held with the World Bank about these projects, but there has been no result yet.
“7,000 incomplete projects are being destroyed, and if the work is not started, these projects will be destroyed. We ask the World Bank to resume the work of these projects as soon as possible,” said Noorul Hadi Adel, the spokesperson of MRRD.
Meanwhile, members of the private sector also ask international institutions to resume their work in Afghanistan.
According to the officials of this sector, with the start of these projects, job opportunities will be provided for thousands of people in the country.
“These projects create employment for our people and the country will grow a lot,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, a member of the private sector.
However, economic experts stated if the work of these projects does not start soon, they will be destroyed and the investments made in them will be wasted.
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