The Afghan women delegation that attended the three-day meeting in Oslo, Norway between the Taliban’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and the West officials are now seeking political asylum in Norway, according to several reports on Feb. 5. The women activists had presented a staunch take against the hardline Islamist regime’s atrocities against the Afghan women.
“Pick up the phone right now, call Kabul and ask the girls to be released immediately,” Afghanistan women’s rights activist Hoda Khamosh had shouted at the Taliban’s acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, ABC had reported. They had accused the Taliban of raids in homes of female activists in Afghanistan, and many activists including Tamana Zaryabi Paryani and Parawana Ibrahimkhel had since disappeared.
While the Taliban delegation had travelled first class on an aeroplane chartered by the Norwegian government to Oslo to find a diplomatic resolution to the issues pertaining to Kabul after the US forces pull out, the Afghan women did not seem happy. Women activists who have been facing intimidation in the hands of the hardline regime, protested against such so-called “diplomatic efforts” with the Taliban by the western governments.
“I am sorry for such a country as Norway for organising this summit, sitting with terrorists, and making deals,” Wahida Amiri, an activist who has protested regularly in Kabul against Taliban had told a news agency. Women protesters stated that Norway invited “criminals and terrorists” to hold talks and they do not respect women’s rights or believe in freedom of speech. It was reported at the time that after the meeting the women were wary of the ‘mistrustful’ Taliban as they have been afraid of the newly established government.
Taliban accuses Afghan women of ‘hiding behind protection of civil rights’
On Feb. 5, a Taliban official confirmed on Twitter that the women delegation that travelled to Oslo, have applied for asylum in the Nordic country. “Women who were invited to a meeting in Norway have now applied for asylum there,” the head of communications at the Taliban’s foreign ministry, Jairulá Shinwari, said. Shafi Azam, another official in the all-male Taliban cabinet, claimed that Afghan women and the youth “often hide behind the protection of civil rights and seek asylum abroad.”
The UN International Labour Organization had earlier in a report warned that the employment of women in Afghanistan dropped by 16 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. This could be attributed to the Taliban’s stringent sharia laws that prohibited women to work or get an education alongside men. Many women did not work in the fear of the Taliban’s reprisal. In January this year, the Taliban also mandated for women to wear face-covering hijab in public. Women activists have since organized scattered protests in Kabul to oppose the Taliban’s oppressive rules.
The Afghan women delegation that attended the three-day meeting in Oslo, Norway between the Taliban’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and the West officials are now seeking political asylum in Norway, according to several reports on Feb. 5. The women activists had presented a staunch take against the hardline Islamist regime’s atrocities against the Afghan women. “Pick up the phone right now, call Kabul and ask the girls to be released immediately,” Afghanistan women’s rights activist Hoda Khamosh had shouted at the Taliban’s acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, ABC had reported. They had accused the Taliban of raids in homes of female activists in Afghanistan, and many activists including Tamana Zaryabi Paryani and Parawana Ibrahimkhel had since disappeared. While the Taliban delegation had travelled first class on an aeroplane chartered by the Norwegian government to Oslo to find a diplomatic resolution to the issues pertaining to Kabul after the US forces pull out, the Afghan women did not seem happy. Women activists who have been facing intimidation in the hands of the hardline regime, protested against such so-called “diplomatic efforts” with the Taliban by the western governments. “I am sorry for such a country as Norway for organising this summit, sitting with terrorists, and making deals,” Wahida Amiri, an activist who has protested regularly in Kabul against Taliban had told a news agency. Women protesters stated that Norway invited “criminals and terrorists” to hold talks and they do not respect women’s rights or believe in freedom of speech. It was reported at the time that after the meeting the women were wary of the ‘mistrustful’ Taliban as they have been afraid of the newly established government. Taliban accuses Afghan women of ‘hiding behind protection of civil rights’ On Feb. 5, a Taliban official confirmed on Twitter that the women delegation that travelled to Oslo, have applied for asylum in the Nordic country. “Women who were invited to a meeting in Norway have now applied for asylum there,” the head of communications at the Taliban’s foreign ministry, Jairulá Shinwari, said. Shafi Azam, another official in the all-male Taliban cabinet, claimed that Afghan women and the youth “often hide behind the protection of civil rights and seek asylum abroad.” The UN International Labour Organization had earlier in a report warned that the employment of women in Afghanistan dropped by 16 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. This could be attributed to the Taliban’s stringent sharia laws that prohibited women to work or get an education alongside men. Many women did not work in the fear of the Taliban’s reprisal. In January this year, the Taliban also mandated for women to wear face-covering hijab in public. Women activists have since organized scattered protests in Kabul to oppose the Taliban’s oppressive rules.