Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has rejected the final communiqué of the 9th Ministerial Conference on Women’s Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying that they do not accept the demands of organizations that, in his view, are influenced by Western values.
Speaking to the Taliban-controlled National Television, Mujahid said that women’s rights in Afghanistan are protected under Islamic Sharia and that anything originating from Western culture is unacceptable to them. He added that Taliban religious scholars are more knowledgeable than others regarding the Islamic rights of women.
The reaction came after the OIC Ministerial Conference on Women’s Affairs, held in Islamabad, described the bans on girls’ education and women’s employment in Afghanistan as contrary to Islamic values and called for the removal of these restrictions.
The conference’s communiqué emphasized that Islam supports the dignity, rights, and social, economic, and political participation of women and girls, and that OIC member states should work to strengthen women’s role in society.
Afghanistan is currently the only OIC member state where girls are barred from higher education and women are excluded from many employment opportunities. Islamic countries have repeatedly urged the Taliban to lift these restrictions, but the Taliban have consistently described such calls as inconsistent with their interpretation of Sharia.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
