The open letter carries the signatures of approximately 10 protest movements and was released on Wednesday, following a virtual meeting among women’s rights activists…reports Asian Lite News
The prominent members of women’s protest movements have urged the United Nations to advocate for the active participation of women in the Doha Conference, scheduled to be held in Afghanistan, as reported by Khaama Press.
In a letter sent to the UN, the Afghan women highlighted that any decision regarding Afghanistan’s fate without consulting women would not be acceptable.
The open letter carries the signatures of approximately 10 protest movements and was released on Wednesday, following a virtual meeting among women’s rights activists.
Notably, the Doha Conference, initiated by the United Nations, is scheduled to be held on February 18 and 19, according to Khaama Press.
This is the second Doha Conference focused on Afghanistan, with the first one hosted by the United Nations approximately eight months ago.
Reportedly, during the initial Doha Conference, Afghan women were not represented.
Moreover, the letter sent to the UN states that the meaningful presence of women is crucial, given the ongoing violations of women’s rights in Afghanistan, including arbitrary detentions of girls, gender-based violence, and acts of gender apartheid, Khaama Press reported.
Officials from the Taliban government have also been invited to attend this conference.
However, as women remain deprived of basic human rights in Afghanistan, the women’s rights activists argued that women protesters have been fighting against the Taliban’s harsh actions against women for the past two and a half years and should be included in the conference.
One of the women’s rights activists, Mina Rafiq, emphasised that women who are actively opposing the policies of the Taliban should be invited to the Doha conference.
“In previous conferences, genuine women representatives were absent, and it was ineffective. In the Doha conference, women who are actively opposing and fighting against the policies of the Taliban should be invited,” she said.
The core agenda of the Doha conference is to discuss and negotiate the proposals put forth by Feridun Sinirioghlu, a former Turkish diplomat, as reported by Khaama Press.
Additionally, according to the sources, discussions will take place during this conference regarding the appointment of a new UN envoy for Afghanistan. (ANI)
India clears the air on on engagements with Kabul
India has been engaging with Afghanistan at both the regional as well as international level by attending several meetings in various formats, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
Responding to media queries on New Delhi’s engagements with Kabul, the official spokesperson of the MEA, Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have been attending several meetings on Afghanistan in various formats, both on a regional level as well as the international level.”
“We have been attending several meetings on Afghanistan in various formats, both on a regional level as well as the international level. You have seen that, we recently also participated in a regional meeting in Kabul, which our head of the technical team attended,” Jaiswal said during the presser.
The MEA spokesperson further added that the recent regional meeting that was attended by India’s side in Kabul should also be seen in the context of engagements with the nation.
He said, “…the meeting of India’s long-standing friendship with the Afghan people and the humanitarian assistance that we are carrying out in the country…this particular meeting we attended, should also be seen in that particular context. That is where we are in engagement with Afghanistan.”
The Indian representative engaged in a meeting with Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, and expressed India’s active participation in both international and regional initiatives concerning Afghanistan.
The representative also emphasised India’s unwavering support for all efforts aimed at fostering stability and development in the war-torn nation.
“India actively takes part in international and regional initiatives regarding Afghanistan and supports every effort leading to the stability and the development of Afghanistan,” posted Hafiz Zia Ahmed, Deputy Spokesman and Assistant Director of Public Relations, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Notably, Muttaqi met with the ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions of the regional countries in the region, including India.
Other diplomats and ambassadors were from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Indonesia, the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.
“Calling the current diplomatic relations of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with the countries of the region remarkable, FM Muttaqi stressed that regional countries should hold regional peace talks to increase and continue positive interaction with Afghanistan, adding that Muttaqi asked the participants to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in Afghanistan based on a region-oriented tradition so as to coordinate in managing the potential threats,” the release added. (ANI)
ALSO READ: Pakistan Grapples with Economic Challenges Yet Again