State Dept: Restrictions on Women Will Delay Kabul’s Intl Relations

The deputy spokesman of the US State Department said that Washington “deplores the edicts that the Taliban have promulgated regularly that fundamentally repress the right of Afghan women and girls.”

“We’ve seen this now time and time again – denying them education, denying them the ability to work, denying them the ability to participate in the provision of humanitarian assistance that benefits all Afghans,” said Vedant Patel, a spokesman for the US Department of State.

“And it’s safe to say from conversations among countries around the world that to the extent that the Taliban is looking for more normal relations with countries around the world, that will not happen in a long time, so as they continue to advance these repressive edicts against women and girls,” said Patel.

Meanwhile the Islamic Emirate said that the rights of women are fully secured in Afghanistan and other countries should not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

“Women’s fundamental rights are secure based on interests of the country, and the Islamic Emirate is making efforts to ensure them. Thus, there is no problem in this regard. The internal affairs should be left to the Afghans,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.

Some political analysts and women right activists in the country urged the Islamic Emirate to show flexibility for the sake of the normalization of relations with the international community.

“The government of the Taliban must inevitably show flexibility for the continuation of their work (engagement). If they don’t show essential flexibility, the continuation of governance will be challenging,” said Sayed Jawad Sajadi, political analyst.

After the Islamic Emirate takeover, more than 20 decrees and orders have been issued by the current government in the fields of education, work and other sectors for women and girls.