Qudratullah Jamal, the Taliban’s Deputy Minister for Finance and Administration at the Ministry of Information and Culture, met with Sadin Ayildiz, Chargé d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Kabul, to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector.
According to a report published on Monday, July 13, by the Taliban-affiliated Bakhtar News Agency, the two sides reviewed ways to strengthen tourism cooperation, sign a memorandum of understanding in the sector, and promote the tourist attractions of Afghanistan and Turkey.
The discussions also focused on facilitating travel for tourists, organizing training programs, expanding cooperation between private-sector stakeholders and tourism companies in both countries, and establishing a joint technical working group.
At the same time, a number of Afghan women have expressed concern over the growing presence of foreign tourists in the country. They argue that promoting tourism without addressing the state of women’s rights risks presenting a misleading picture of the current situation in Afghanistan.
According to these women, some foreign tourists enter Afghanistan in coordination with, and at the invitation of, the Taliban, and the content they publish does not accurately reflect the realities faced by many Afghan women.
They emphasized that Afghan women particularly in the wake of sweeping restrictions on education, employment, and public participation continue to face severe hardships, and that these conditions are often absent from reports and images shared by foreign visitors.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
