Peace Road Map for Afghanistan Will Let Taliban Negotiate Women’s Rights

Afghanistan must “be free of fear and abuse” under a final peace deal, says Roya Rahmani, the country’s ambassador to Washington. An agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban, for new talks with Kabul, raises concerns that women may lose rights in future Afghan governments. Rahmani, a longtime women’s rights activist, remembers all too well what Afghanistan was like during the 1990s, under the Taliban’s rule, when women were beaten for leaving their homes and barred from attending school or holding jobs. “People were drained of hope” and were “living zombies.”  Today, she noted, women make up 28 percent of the Afghan National Assembly—more than in Congress. Women’s rights are supposed to be addressed in the future talks, which could result in a power-sharing arrangement between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Although some American and Afghan officials say the Taliban appear to be more receptive to women’s rights than in the past, others worry that women will be given lip service in that final accord, or left out entirely.   Complete Article  HERE