DOHA: The US special envoy to Afghanistan met with the Taliban’s chief diplomat on Saturday and highlighted international opposition to the group’s treatment of women and girls.
Since returning to power last year, the Taliban have imposed a series of restrictions on civil society, many of them focused on controlling the rights of women and girls.
Earlier this month, Afghanistan’s supreme leader ordered women to fully cover themselves in public, including their faces, ideally with the traditional burqa.
“Girls must go back to school, women must move and work without restriction to move towards normalized relations,” US Special Representative to Afghanistan Thomas West wrote on Twitter about his meeting in Qatar with the Minister of Defense. Taliban Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Mutaqi. .
The two also discussed economic stabilization in Afghanistan and concerns about attacks on civilians, West added.
The country teeters on the brink of economic disaster after several nations froze Afghanistan’s assets abroad and cut aid.
“The dialogue will continue in support of the Afghan people and our national interests,” West said in his post.