Doha Agreement Bars Women from Participating in Politics- Report

According to Heather Barr, the associate director of Human Rights Watch‘s Women’s Rights Division, the Doha agreement, which the US and the Taliban signed, is less transparent and largely excludes Afghan women from political participation.

Heather Barr charged former US Special Representative for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmy Khalilzad with undermining women’s rights in the Doha Agreement in a tweet on Saturday.

According to Barr, the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 are violated when women are disregarded or not taken into account when talking about Afghanistan.

Barr cited the 2020 Doha Agreement as an illustration of disregarding women’s rights in order to reach a political agreement, according to Khaama Press.

She continued by saying that the Doha Agreement opened the door for the Islamic Emirates to return to Afghanistan, which ultimately led to the routine infringement of women’s rights after 2021.

According to Khaama Press, this comes after human rights organisations previously criticised the Taliban regime for violating women’s fundamental rights, including their ability to access political and social engagements, employment opportunities, and education.

Since the Taliban took back power in 2021, Afghan women have had to deal with a variety of difficulties. The war-torn nation denies access to public spaces, employment, and education to girls and women.

Women’s and girls’ freedoms of expression, association, assembly, and movement have been subject to harsh restrictions under the Taliban.

Beyond this, Taliban leaders have disregarded calls from around the world for girls and women to have access to jobs and education. It appears that they have also warned other countries not to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

The Taliban have prohibited girls from enrolling in secondary education, limited women’s and girls’ freedom of movement, excluded women from the majority of professions, and prohibited women from using public parks, gyms, and bathrooms.