Baroness Fiona Hodgson, a member of the British House of Lords, has described the situation of women in Afghanistan under طالبان rule as “catastrophic” and called for the formation of a global consensus to support women’s rights in the country.
She said that the Taliban’s policies toward women have excluded them from public life and prevented the use of women’s potential as a “great human resource” for Afghanistan. According to her, these restrictions have had serious social and humanitarian consequences.
Baroness Hodgson stressed that pressure on the Taliban is necessary in order to change the current situation. She also stated that the Taliban view women’s rights as a “Western issue,” while Afghan women have struggled for years to achieve their rights.
She described these restrictions as being contrary to fundamental human rights principles and warned that the continuation of this trend could worsen the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
The British House of Lords member also said that dialogue and engagement with the Taliban should not be interpreted as granting political legitimacy to the group. She further added that one of the existing challenges is the decline in global attention to Afghanistan due to other crises and wars around the world.
Baroness Hodgson concluded by emphasizing that the fundamental rights of Afghan women must not be removed from the international community’s agenda, and that broad international cooperation and consensus are needed to address the existing problems, especially in the area of women’s rights.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
