Afghan women activists in the European Parliament: Helping the people does not require the Taliban to be recognized
On the second day of the “Afghan Women’s Days” special session of the European Parliament in Brussels, a number of Afghan women activists said that aid to Afghanistan was separate from the issue of recognizing the Taliban government.
A number of prominent Afghan women who fled the country after the Taliban took over have gathered with the finalists of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for 2021 to review the situation of women in Afghanistan and to make demands of the international community on the Taliban. To express.
Zia Shahriyar, a BBC Persian correspondent who traveled to Brussels to cover the meeting, said that the expression of dissatisfaction and concern about the Taliban’s treatment of women could be clearly seen in every word and every sentence of the speakers.
Meanwhile, Heidi Hotala, deputy speaker of the European Parliament, told the BBC that “this is possible as long as the Taliban are harassing citizens and removing women, who make up half of the population, and preventing girls from being educated.” “I do not see the European Union moving towards recognizing the Taliban.”
He said participants in the meeting also stressed the non-recognition of the Taliban.
The former head of Afghanistan’s human rights commission says providing humanitarian aid and recognizing the Taliban is “not necessary”.
“Providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and launching the country’s banking system does not require the recognition of the Taliban,” Shahrzad Akbar, the former head of the Afghan Human Rights Commission, who attended the meeting, told the BBC.
He added that their message to the international community was “Please do not recognize the Taliban as long as gender apartheid persists, harassment of journalists and ethnic discrimination continue. This group can in no way represent the Afghan people.”
Najiya Anwari, a spokeswoman for the former Afghan government’s peace ministry, also told the BBC that the world had been helping women in Afghanistan for the past 20 years on condition that women ‘s rights were respected.
“The world needs to think more carefully about Afghanistan and look at the lessons learned and see where they went wrong,” Ms. Anwari said.
Ariana Saeed, a famous Afghan singer and songwriter, also said: “It is valuable for me to be the voice of the silent women of Afghanistan.”
Ariana Saeed performed the song “Fire Woman” on the first day of the meeting, telling a BBC reporter that her music is doing well but that whenever she talks about an Afghan woman, it is worthwhile for her to say that “the voice of silent women “Afghanistan.
“It was shocking for me and I do not know why Norway invited the Taliban to Brussels,” Ariana Saeed said.
“Afghan women are now like the ‘prisoners’ (prisoners) before the Taliban, who ‘are not allowed to study, work or breathe,'” he said.
Ms. Saeed added: “The solution is for the international community to find a way to help the people without doing so through the Taliban.”
On the first day of the meeting, European Parliament President Roberta Metzula condemned “systematic gender discrimination against Afghan women by the ruling regime”.
“The world must prioritize the needs of Afghan women and make any interaction with the ruling regime (Taliban) a precondition for respecting women’s rights,” said Angelina Jolie, a Hollywood movie star who’s ambassador to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Consider.
