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Women Concerned Over Underrepresentation in Afghan Talks

Roshan Noorzai

   WASHINGTON - While the Afghan government and the Taliban continue their
   negotiation efforts to reach a peace agreement, women's rights
   activists in Afghanistan say they are increasingly concerned that the
   talks, dominated by men, could lead to a decrease in their rights and
   freedoms gained since 2001.

   After months of delay, representatives of the Afghan government and the
   Taliban gathered on Sept.12 in Doha, Qatar, to begin negotiations to
   end 19 years of Afghanistan's bloodshed.

   Of the 21 government negotiators, only four are women. There are no
   female participants among the 21 representatives of the Taliban in the
   Doha talks.

   The four women will be asked to defend nearly two decades of women's
   rights advances in Afghanistan during the next round of talks, of which
   the date and format are still being discussed.

   "We will be representing the people of Afghanistan, especially the
   women," Fawzia Koofi, one of the women negotiators, told VOA.

   Koofi, who escaped an assassination attempt by unidentified gunmen less
   than a month before the start of the talks, did not give details on
   Kabul's plans to push back against Taliban's notorious gender rules but
   said women's rights were a "red line" for them.

   Another female representative, Habiba Sorabi, said she is optimistic
   that some of the improvements women have achieved over the years are
   irreversible but is concerned that the Taliban could impose some of its
   misogynistic beliefs.

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