Pakistan FM calls on IEA to reverse bans on women and girls in Afghanistan

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to reverse restrictions on women and girls in the country.

Speaking at a press briefing on the outcome of the Women in Islam Conference in New York this week, Bhutto Zardari said that the IEA’s actions on women and girls are not the norm within the Muslim world.

“There is no other country on the planet, Muslim or otherwise, that condones depriving women and girls from the right to education,” Bhutto Zardari said.

“There is no space for groups such as those in Afghanistan or anywhere else to claim that Islam justifies their actions,” he added.

Bhutto Zardari also said that the IEA was not living up to its commitment, which makes it tough for Pakistan to advocate for Afghanistan.

“It puts us in a very difficult situation to advocate for some of the things that the people of Afghanistan need in the form of humanitarian aid, the unfreezing of their funds, the functioning of their economy, etc.” he said.

Bhutto Zardari, who chaired the meeting at the UN, said earlier in the week to participants that he opposes the general perception that Islam represses women.

“Islam was the first religion to give rights to women,” he declared adding that “Islam forbids injustice against women.”