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05-12-2021
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies
KABUL/ WASHINGTON/ ISLAMABAD: Reacting to the Taliban government’s decree on women’s rights which said women should not be considered “property” and must consent to marriage, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West Saturday said that Washington welcomed the decree reinforcing a woman’s right to determine if and whom she marries.
“A woman is not a property, but a noble and free human being; no one can give her to anyone in exchange for peace or to end animosity,” read the decree issued a day earlier.
Taking to Twitter, Thomas West, besides lauding the Taliban’s action about women’s rights, urged Kabul to do more in this regard.
“At the same time, much more is needed to ensure women’s rights in every aspect of Afghan society including schools, workplaces, politics and media,” said Thomas West.
Women must consent to marriage
On December 3, the Taliban-led Afghan government had released a decree on women’s rights, stating women should not be considered “property” and must consent to a marriage, but failed to mention female access to education or work outside the home.
The Taliban have been under pressure from the international community, who have mostly frozen funds for Afghanistan, to commit to upholding women’s rights since the group took over the country on August 15.
“A woman is not a property, but a noble and free human being; no one can give her to anyone in exchange for peace…or to end animosity,” the Taliban decree, released by spokesman Zabihullah Muhajid, had said.
It set out the rules governing marriage and property for women, stating women should not be forced into marriage and widows should have a share in their late husband’s property.
Earlier, several European countries are working on opening up a joint diplomatic mission in Afghanistan that would enable their ambassadors to return to the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday, Reuters reported.
Western countries have been grappling with how to engage with the Taliban after they took over Afghanistan in a lightning advance in August as US-led forces were completing their pullout.
The United States and other Western countries shut their embassies and withdrew their diplomats as the Taliban seized Kabul, following which the Taliban declared an interim government.
“We are thinking of an organization between several European countries… a common location for several Europeans, which would allow our ambassadors to be present,” Macron told reporters in Doha before heading to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
The United States, European countries and others are reluctant to formally recognize the Islamic Emirate, accusing them of backtracking on pledges of political and ethnic inclusivity and to uphold the rights of women and minorities.
“This is a different demarche than a political recognition or political dialogue with the Taliban … we will have a representation as soon as we can open,” he said, adding that the still needed to iron out security issues.
In a statement following talks with the Taliban a week ago, the European Union suggested it could open a mission soon.
“The EU delegation underlined that the possibility of establishing a minimal presence on the ground in Kabul, which would not entail recognition, will directly depend on the security situation, as well as on effective decisions by the de facto authorities to allow the EU to ensure adequate protection of its staff and premises,” it said.
France separately announced on Friday that it had carried out an evacuation mission in Afghanistan with Qatar’s help, taking more than 300 people, mostly Afghans, out of the country.
On the other side, at least 780,000 children lack shelter with nearly 8.6 million without blankets as the temperature is dropping below freezing, said a report by the organization Save the Children.
“With the country facing its worst hunger crisis ever recorded, millions of children will be going to sleep cold and hungry this winter. The shocking reports of children starving to death should make us all feel ashamed,” said Thomas Howells, acting country director for Save the Children in Afghanistan.
This comes as hundreds of children are forced to engage in hazardous work as poverty is on the rise across the country.
“I came here to work because I need to earn some money,” said Amanullah, a child worker on a Kabul street.
“The winter is cold. There is no money to do anything about it,” said Hamid, 10, who works as a vendor on the street.
The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly pledged to take steps to counter poverty and economic crisis in the country.
“The Islamic Emirate is in contact … with world countries to bring economic and humanitarian assistance,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
UN statistics indicate that over eight million Afghan children lack basic needs.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday launched a global fundraising winter campaign to help forcibly displace families to avert a “crisis of hunger and starvation” in Afghanistan as the cold winter sets in.
UNHCR spokesperson Barbar Baluch speaking in Geneva described the situation of the displaced people inside Afghanistan as a crisis of hunger and starvation. “It’s a crisis of hunger and 
starvation. People don’t have enough to eat, and it’s very visible,” he said.
“Hunger in the country has reached truly unprecedented levels. Nearly 23 million people, that’s 55 percent of the population (who) are facing extreme levels of hunger, and nearly nine million of them are at risk of famine,” the UNHCR spokesman said.
According to UNHCR, around 700,000 displaced people have been assisted by this organization, and it has the capacity to assist nearly 60,000 people every week, Baloch, however, said “but as we reach thousands of people, we find thousands more people who are in need of humanitarian assistance.” He described the situation in Afghanistan as a race against time.
He said further resources are needed to address the primary needs of the most vulnerable people, like single mothers with no shelter or food for their children, to avert a humanitarian crisis in the country.
