Khalilzad calls Taliban restrictions on women ‘terrible’ for Afghanistan’s future
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, has described the Taliban administration’s restrictions on women and girls as “terrible” for Afghanistan’s future, saying that continuing to ban education and employment for half the country’s population will have disastrous consequences.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, he stressed that the ban on girls’ education beyond sixth grade empowers opponents of the Taliban administration and that no country supports this policy. According to him, the Taliban administration must reconsider its approach toward women and girls with Afghanistan’s future in mind.
Khalilzad also called for the lifting of restrictions imposed on women and girls and warned that if the situation continues, Afghanistan’s future will face serious harm.
In another part of the interview, the former U.S. special envoy said people in the U.S. government who closely follow the Afghanistan file had told him that the Taliban administration has complied with the counterterrorism commitments of the Doha agreement. He added that, according to these sources, the Taliban administration has not allowed groups such as al Qaeda to use Afghan soil to plan attacks against the United States.
He went on to describe ISIS as a major threat in Afghanistan and said the Taliban administration is engaged in fighting the group and targeting its forces.
The Doha agreement was signed in 2020 between the United States and the Taliban administration, and one of its main pillars was a commitment to prevent Afghan territory from being used to threaten the security of the United States and its allies. However, broad restrictions on the education and work of women and girls have been among the Taliban administration’s most controversial policies over the past nearly three years.
