Help bring the Taliban into the 21st century, United Nations MIGMG News

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammad said during a recent visit to Afghanistan that she was using all possible “means” in talks with Taliban officials to end actions against Afghan women and girls.

Former Nigerian minister and UN deputy secretary-general Amina Muhammad told a press conference on Wednesday that she visited Afghanistan last week with a UN delegation and four Taliban, including the foreign minister and deputy prime minister.

Amina Mohammad said Taliban officials tried to convince them that they had taken steps to create a safe environment for women, but they were not recognised. Amina Mohammad said: “I would say that the definition of protecting them (the Taliban) is equivalent to the oppression of women.”

After meetings in Kabul and Kandahar, the head of the UN humanitarian mission, Martin Griffiths, and the heads of other major aid groups also visited Afghanistan this week, where they pressed the Taliban to impose national laws on Afghan women. And lift your ban on international NGO aid work.

Griffiths said the purpose of the visit was to convince the Taliban that it was critical to start relief operations and allow women to work in them. He said the delegation’s message was simple and that the ban made the work of humanitarian agencies more difficult.

Griffiths said: “Those (Afghan Taliban leaders) I met with said they were aware of the need for Afghan women to work, as well as their rights. work to address the needs of these women and the world will see that happen in time. course.” Amina Mohammad said that in talks with Taliban leaders, she stressed humanitarian principles and reminded them that non-discrimination is the most important point in humanitarian treatment.

According to Amina Mohammad, “As a Sunni Muslim like the Taliban, I told the Afghan ministers that when it comes to banning girls’ education beyond the sixth grade and taking away women’s rights, they are not following Islam” and harming people.

The Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations said that a Taliban leader said that he was forbidden to speak directly to us (women) and did not look at us during the conversation.

Amina Mohammad said the Taliban assured her that the rights of women and girls would be restored when the time came. When pressed by the United Nations for a timeline, Taliban leaders said it would happen “soon.”

The UN delegation, before arriving in Kabul, also visited Muslim-majority countries, including Indonesia, Turkey, the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia. According to Jahan Amina Mohammad, she gained wider support against the Taliban’s restrictions on women.

Amina Mohammad said that a proposal by the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to hold an international conference on “Women in the Muslim World” in mid-March is being considered. “It is very important for Muslim countries to unite. We have to take the fight to the region and we need bold and courageous decisions for that, because women’s rights are important,” she said.

Amina Mohammad said we need to do a lot for women’s rights in Afghanistan. “We have to see how the Taliban go from the 13th century to the 21st century. And that journey is not possible in just one day. He further said that it is important how to exert maximum pressure on the Taliban so that they can adhere to the principles of joining the “international family”.

“No one is against any Muslim country or Sharia (law). But they should not be allowed to become a tool of extremism and harm the rights of women and girls. This is totally unacceptable and we will continue to do it,” said Amina. Mohammed. are established.”