The new Afghan government will include women, said this Wednesday the spokesman of the Taliban *, Zabihulla Mujahid, on the French channel BFMTV.
Referring to the interim Cabinet announced by the movement on Tuesday, the spokesperson reiterated that “it is temporary.” “We will have positions for women, in compliance with sharia law,” he added without specifying which portfolios it would be.
“It is the beginning, but we will make room for women. They can be part of the government. This will be our second step,” Mujahid said.
He also assured that the Taliban do not want to repeat the policy they practiced between 1996 and 2001, when they held power, and indicated that his regime will behave in a different way internationally.
“We will not pay attention to what happened in the past. We want to establish diplomatic relations. We ask the embassies to reopen their representation in Kabul,” Mujahid said and urged all countries to recognize the Taliban government.
Since the Taliban took Kabul, on August 15, a wave of uncertainty has been generated about the future of women in that nation, in particular about whether they will be able to work, receive education at all levels and interact with men. Between 1996 and 2001, under the so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, women were deprived of many of their rights, they could not go out without a burqa and without the company of a man, while girls were prohibited from attending the school. However, the Taliban claim to have changed their position in this regard and have declared that women “will be happy” to live under sharia in this new government.
* The Taliban movement, designated as a “terrorist organization” by the UN Security Council, is declared a terrorist group and prohibited in Russia.
